heroin

Kelly Zimmerman holds her son Jaxton Wright at a parenting session at the Children's Health Center in Reading, Pa. The free program provides resources and social support to new parents in recovery from addiction, or who are otherwise vulnerable.

Beyond Opioids: How A Family Came Together To Stay Together

3:06pm June 19, 2018

Infants do better with their parents, studies find, as long as parents have support to get and stay sober. This program starts during pregnancy, to rally and train a strong family support network.

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Health & Safety

Opioid Abuse Emerges As A Major Cause Of Children Entering Foster Care

4:42pm June 13, 2018

by Sean Bueter

A new report from a statewide child advocacy group suggests an increasing number of North Carolina children are entering foster care because their parents are abusing drugs like heroin and fentanyl

Arlington, Mass., Police Chief Fred Ryan (right) and Inspector Gina Bassett review toxicology reports on cocaine evidence looking for the possibility of fentanyl.

Fentanyl-Laced Cocaine Becoming A Deadly Problem Among Drug Users

11:05am March 29, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The powerful opioid fentanyl is showing up in batches of cocaine, threatening a new wave of opioid overdoses. Some doctors, drug users and law enforcement wonder if the contamination is deliberate.

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Health & Safety

North Carolina Sees Sharp Rise In Opioid Overdose Emergency Room Visits

6:11am March 21, 2018

by Bethany Chafin

There were over 5,700 emergency department visits for opioid overdoses in 2017. That amounts to a 40 percent increase from the year before.

ACLU Of NC Opposes New Opioid Sentencing Proposal

3:24pm March 07, 2018

by Eddie Garcia

Civil rights groups are speaking out against a proposal from eastern North Carolina counties to increase the bail amount for people facing some drug charges.

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A young man uses heroin under a bridge in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, a neighborhood that has become a hub for heroin use. The economic costs of the epidemic are mounting, researchers say, as the U.S. loses more and more workers in their prime

Cost Of U.S. Opioid Epidemic Since 2001 Is $1 Trillion And Climbing

1:05pm February 13, 2018

by Greg Allen

Economists tracking federal mortality data say the opioid crisis is undercutting the productivity of people in their prime working years — 30s and 40s.

A Mexican soldier piles poppies for incineration near the town of Tlacotepec, in Guerrero state, Mexico. The army says it slashes and burns poppy when fields are too difficult to access by helicopter or when they want to protect fruits and vegetables grow

World News

On The Hunt For Poppies In Mexico — America's Biggest Heroin Supplier

5:02pm January 14, 2018

by James Fredrick

The Mexican army gave NPR a firsthand look at its efforts to eradicate the flowering crop that's made into heroin.

Proponents of medically supervised, indoor sites for opioid injection say such places would be much safer than tent encampments like this one — and could help people addicted to opioids transition into treatment and away from drug use.

Desperate Cities Consider 'Safe Injection' Sites For Opioid Users

12:17pm January 10, 2018

by Bobby Allyn

Opioids were a main driver in roughly 1,200 drug overdose deaths in Philadelphia last year. That's four times the city's murder rate. It's time, some officials say, to supervise, not criminalize.

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Crime
News

Triad-Wide Drug Bust Yields 'Unprecedented' Amount Of Heroin

5:15pm January 03, 2018

by Eddie Garcia

Law enforcement officials say they've seized an unprecedented amount of heroin in the Triad. Multiple agencies across the region collaborated on the bust.

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Terry Lilly, then 36, of Charleston, W.Va., almost a year ago when he was first interviewed by NPR's Sarah McCammon.

After Drug Treatment, Men In Recovery Work To Live A 'Normal Life'

11:05pm December 26, 2017

by Sarah McCammon

For NPR's "Kitchen Table" series exploring issues from the 2016 presidential campaign, we revisit Huntington, W. Va., and follow up with three men in recovery from opioid addiction.

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