heroin

Ravages Of Heroin Addiction Haunt Friends, Families And Whole Towns

3:09pm August 24, 2015

by NPR Staff

Deaths from heroin nearly tripled between 2010 and 2013, and demand for the drug isn't dropping. Towns across the U.S. are grappling with the deadly epidemic — including a once-idyllic town in Ohio.

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This genetically modified yeast can convert sugar into powerful opioid drugs. Scientists working with the modified yeast strains are required to register them with the Drug Enforcement Administration and keep the yeast under lock and key.

Engineers Make Narcotics With Yeast. Is Home-Brewed Heroin Next?

5:05pm August 17, 2015

by Michaeleen Doucleff

The yeast produce only tiny amounts of the drug. But eventually, the technology could lead to better painkillers and other medicines. Drug officials worry the microbes could fall into the wrong hands.

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Cris and Valerie Fiore hold one of their favorite pictures of their sons Anthony (with the dark hair) and Nick. Anthony died from a heroin overdose in May 2014 at the age of 24. Cris Fiore's eulogy described his son's death as a shock, but "not a surprise

When Rehab Might Help An Addict — But Insurance Won't Cover It

9:34am August 16, 2015

by Ben Allen

Federal law requires insurance firms to cover treatment for addiction as they do treatment for other diseases. But some families say many drug users aren't getting the inpatient care they need.

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Leana Wen hands out awards to business owners for their efforts to support breastfeeding at the Baltimore City Health Department on Tuesday.

Can A 32-Year-Old Doctor Cure Baltimore's Ills?

5:37pm August 07, 2015

by Audie Cornish

Leana Wen, Baltimore's new health commissioner, is trying to apply public health approaches to ameliorate the city's deep-seated problems with poverty, violence and disease.

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Crime

Community Meeting Targets Prescription Drug Abuse In High Point

7:20am July 15, 2015

by Keri Brown

A town hall meeting in High Point Tuesday night focused on prescription drug use. This comes as the city has been dealing with a major heroin epidemic.

Health & Safety

High Point Sees Decline In Heroin Overdoses

11:23am July 10, 2015

by Neal Charnoff

High Point has seen a significant drop in heroin overdoses from a year ago. Police attribute the decline to arrests targeting a local street gang.

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Daily News

Morning Headlines: Friday, July 10

7:49am July 10, 2015

by Neal Charnoff

Defense Chief Carter Visiting Fort Bragg As Troop Cuts Loom

U.S. Defense Secretary Ash Carter is visiting troops at Fort Bragg as the Army is downsizing.

A user prepares drugs for injection in 2014 in St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Heroin Use Surges, Especially Among Women And Whites

10:57am July 08, 2015

by Richard Harris

All told, more than half a million Americans used heroin in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a nearly 150 percent increase since 2007.

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A Bulgarian border policeman stands near a barbed wire wall on the border with Turkey in July 2014. Experts believe that about two-thirds of the heroin that enters Europe comes through Bulgaria, and that a third of that moves on to the United States.

World News

Bulgaria Steps Up Efforts Against Drug Trafficking Across Its Borders

8:58am June 24, 2015

by Ari Shapiro

Bulgaria has long been a drug trafficking hub. As recently as the 1990s, the government looked the other way. Now a European Union member, it's working to stop the flow of Afghan heroin into Europe.

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Zuhura Khamisi is a volunteer and mentor at Malaika Sober House.

It's Been A Hard 12-Step Road For Zanzibar's Heroin Addicts

12:40pm May 27, 2015

by Gregory Warner

An island off the coast of Tanzania has one of the world's highest addiction rates. But the majority of its people, who are Muslims, are uneasy with the 12-step recovery program's Christian concepts.

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