Opioids

In Massachusetts last July, several Franklin County Jail inmates were watched by a nurse and a corrections officer after receiving their daily doses of buprenorphine, a drug that helps control opioid cravings. By some estimates, at least half to two-thirds of today's U.S. jail population has a substance use or dependence problem.

County Jails Struggle With A New Role As America's Prime Centers For Opioid Detox

Eric Westervelt

The National Sheriffs' Association has published a detailed guide to jail-based medication-assisted treatment. States hardest hit by opioids are moving fastest to get inmates the help needed to quit.

Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter, pictured on Monday, has pared back the state's lawsuit against opioid drugmakers.

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Oklahoma Drops Some Claims To 'Refocus' Lawsuit Against Opioid-Makers

Brian Mann

Attorney General Mike Hunter said paring back the suit against companies at the center of the national epidemic will speed up any payouts and help communities recover.

Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor and his co-defendants are accused of racketeering, a charge often applied to drug kingpins and mafia bosses.

Insys Therapeutics Pushed Opioid With Bribes And Lies, Prosecutors Say

Gabrielle Emanuel

Federal prosecutors say the pharmaceutical company paid off doctors and manipulated insurance companies to increase the number of patients taking its opioid Subsys.

New York on Thursday sued the billionaire Sackler family behind OxyContin, joining a growing list of state and local governments alleging the family's company, Purdue Pharma, sparked the nation's opioid crisis by putting hunger for profits over patient safety.

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New York Lawsuit Claims Sackler Family Illegally Profited From Opioid Epidemic

Brian Mann

The state's attorney general is targeting one of America's richest families. A lawsuit filed Thursday claims the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, profited illegally in Oxycontin sales.

Purdue Pharma, headquartered in Stamford, Conn., the Sackler family, which owns the company, settled a case brought by the Oklahoma attorney general.

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Purdue Pharma Agrees To $270 Million Opioid Settlement With Oklahoma

Martha Bebinger

The maker of OxyContin will pay to settle a historic opioid lawsuit brought by the attorney general of Oklahoma. Will other drugmakers named in the lawsuit follow?

Authorities intercepted a woman using this drug kit in preparation for shooting up a mix of heroin and fentanyl inside a Walmart bathroom last month in Manchester, N.H. Fentanyl offers a particularly potent high but also can shut down breathing in under a minute.

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Fentanyl-Linked Deaths: The U.S. Opioid Epidemic's Third Wave Begins

Martha Bebinger

Overdose deaths involving fentanyl are rising 鈥� up 113 percent on average each year from 2013 to 2016. Dealers are adding cheap fentanyl to the illicit drug supply, and some users get it accidentally.

Dr. Hillary Tamar, who's in the second year of her family medicine residency in Phoenix, is part of a new generation of doctors who are committed to treating addiction.

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Aspiring Doctors Seek Advanced Training In Addiction Medicine

Will Stone

Once a tiny specialty that drew mostly psychiatrists, addiction medicine is expanding its accredited training to include residents from specialties like family medicine who see it as a calling.

"What's important to me is that the facts come to light, and we get justice and accountability," Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said about litigation that has made internal Purdue Pharma documents public.

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Opioid Litigation Brings Company Secrets Into The Public Eye

Brian Mann

Lawsuits over the way drugmakers have marketed opioids are already putting a dent in companies' reputations. Litigation has forced the release of internal documents that are shifting the narrative.

Health

Colorado OBH Fights Opioid Crisis With Medication-Assisted Treatment

Stephanie Daniel

The Colorado Office of Behavioral Health received a federal grant in April 2017 to address the state's growing opioid crisis. That year, 560 Coloradans鈥�

Combining some common antidepressants and opioids can undercut the relief of the painkillers.

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Antidepressants Can Interfere With Pain Relief Of Common Opioids

Jonathan Lambert

Some antidepressants inhibit a liver enzyme that converts common opioids into their active form. The interaction may reduce the effectiveness of certain opioids for people taking both medicines.