opioid crisis

McArthur, the county seat of Vinton County, Ohio, shown on April. 3, 2018. The county prosecutor says the pandemic has put additional strain on children who have parents addicted to drugs.

Ohio County Prosecutor: Pandemic Puts More Stress On Families Dealing With Addiction

5:04am April 29, 2020

Even though Vinton County, Ohio, hasn't had high infection rates of the coronavirus, social restrictions have made it harder to keep drug users and their children safe, says Trecia Kimes-Brown.

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Ronda Goldfein, who leads the Philadelphia nonprofit Safehouse, says the group will open the first supervised injection site in the country next week over objections of the Department of Justice and some community members.

Philadelphia Nonprofit Opening Nation's First Supervised Injection Site Next Week

4:20pm February 26, 2020

After a two-year legal saga, Safehouse says it will open next week, allowing users to administer illegal drugs under supervision. Federal officials say they will try to stop the site from opening.

Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor was convicted in a bribery and kickback scheme that prosecutors said helped fuel the opioid crisis.

Pharmaceutical Executive John Kapoor Sentenced To 66 Months In Prison In Opioid Trial

6:29pm January 23, 2020

His sentencing is the culmination of a months-long criminal trial that resulted in the first successful prosecution of pharmaceutical executives tied to the opioid epidemic.

Health & Safety

Congressional Hearing Includes What NC Is Doing To Combat Opioid Crisis

4:39pm January 13, 2020

by Bethany Chafin

This story has been updated from a previous version.

A congressional hearing Tuesday morning highlighted what North Carolina is doing to combat the opioid crisis.

Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone, that companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades.

National

In 2019, The Legal Fight Over Opioids Unraveled Into Confusion And Infighting

1:47pm December 26, 2019

by Brian Mann

This was meant to be the year we answered a big question about the deadly opioid epidemic: Will drug companies that make and sell prescription pain medications be held liable? That clarity never came.

Tufts University stripped the Sackler name from several of its buildings and divisions earlier this month, citing the billionaire family's role in the opioid crisis. The founders of Purdue Pharma have come under intense scrutiny for how their company misl

Sacklers Withdrew Nearly $11 Billion From Purdue As Opioid Crisis Mounted

1:41pm December 17, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

According to a court filing Monday, the family pulled about $10.7 billion from Purdue since 2008 — ramping up withdrawals even after executives pleaded guilty to misleading regulators about OxyContin.

Cardinal Health was one of a handful of corporations to strike a last-minute settlement with two Ohio counties, to avoid the first major trial in the landmark federal litigation effort concerning the opioid health crisis.

National

Opioid Trial: 4 Companies Reach Tentative Settlement With Ohio Counties

12:46pm October 21, 2019

by Brian Mann

Four defendants, including three big U.S. distributors, have struck a deal with Summit and Cuyahoga counties. It doesn't resolve thousands of other lawsuits filed against the firms across the U.S.

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Judge Thad Balkman holds a hearing Tuesday on his final judgment in the opioid lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson by the state of Oklahoma.

3 Major Drug Distributors Reportedly Negotiating $18B Opioid Settlement

9:06pm October 15, 2019

by Richard Gonzales

A new study estimates that the opioid epidemic has cost the U.S. economy about $631 billion due to health care costs and the unrealized lifetime earnings of people who died of overdoses.

The overprescription of opioid pain medications such as these oxycodone pills has been blamed for an addiction epidemic in the U.S. — and has spurred a flurry of activity in American courts.

Your Guide To The Massive (And Massively Complex) Opioid Litigation

5:58pm October 15, 2019

by Colin Dwyer

The largest-ever federal action related to the U.S. opioid crisis is on the cusp of its first trial next week — and it's complicated. So here's a brief(ish) explainer breaking it all down.

Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on Thursday outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., over its recent controversial opioid settlement.

National

New York AG Says Sacklers Transferred $1B From Pharma Accounts To Themselves

9:43pm September 13, 2019

by Richard Gonzales

The revelation comes after almost two dozen states reached a tentative settlement with the maker of Oxycontin.