opioid crisis

Prince performs in 2009 at the Grand Palais in Paris. He died in 2016.

Music & Culture

Prince's Family Files Wrongful Death Suit Against Hospital, Pharmacy Chain

1:09pm April 24, 2018

by Scott Neuman

The pop superstar was treated for an overdose a week before his death. The suit contends that the hospital failed to realize the drug he was taking was a deadly counterfeit.

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.

Queue Listen Now

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.

On Jan. 10, President Trump signed into law the bipartisan Interdict Act, to give federal agents more tools to curtail opioid trafficking. But, after declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency last fall, Trump has been slow to request money for

Trump Says He Will Focus On Opioid Law Enforcement, Not Treatment

11:20am February 08, 2018

by Greg Allen

Opioids are a public health emergency, the president says, but he hasn't acted on the White House opioid commission's recommendations to expand treatment.

Queue Listen Now

Hydrocodone-acetaminophen pills, also known as Vicodin, arranged for a photo at a pharmacy in Montpelier, Vt. A new report from the National Safety Council says the abuse of prescription opioids has helped fuel an epidemic in overdoses.

Opioid Crisis Blamed For Sharp Increase In Accidental Deaths In U.S.

12:23pm January 17, 2018

by Scott Neuman

Accidental deaths, which include overdoses, have become the third-leading killer for Americans for the first time in more than a century, according to the National Safety Council.

Michelle Leavy surrounded by her three sons. She became addicted to opioids when she was discharged from the hospital with doctors' advice to use them for her pain after a cesarean section. She is now in recovery.

Hospitals Brace Patients For Pain To Reduce Risk Of Opioid Addiction

4:11pm January 09, 2018

by Blake Farmer

As hospitals assess their role in the opioid crisis, some are trying to change patient expectations by warning them to expect some pain. Doctors in those hospitals are prescribing fewer opioids.

Queue Listen Now

Health & Safety

Could Prescription Heroin And Safe Injection Sites Slow The Opioid Crisis?

2:25pm January 08, 2018

Vox.com drug policy reporter German Lopez details the scope of the opioid epidemic, and Bobby Allyn, a reporter at WHYY in Philadelphia, discusses the idea of safe injection sites.

Queue Listen Now

George Patterson is one of the volunteers who run Phoenix's only syringe exchange program, a mobile program called Shot in the Dark.

Fight The Opioid Epidemic, All Agree. But Strategies Vary Widely

11:47am December 19, 2017

by Will Stone

Officials across Arizona agree that the state must solve its growing opioid problem. But some people fear that several strategies under consideration encourage drug use.

Queue Listen Now

U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams, shown here testifying before a Senate committee in 2017, says President Trump's top health priority is addressing opioid addiction.

Health & Safety

U.S. Surgeon General Says Working Together Is Key To Combating Opioid Crisis

7:06pm November 20, 2017

by Greta Jochem

The country's top public health advocate says the cycle of opioid addiction won't be stopped without more money from Congress and cooperation among federal, state and local officials.

Queue Listen Now

Rep. Tom Marino, R-Pa., was blamed in media reports for sponsoring a bill that the Drug Enforcement Administration had warned would hamper its ability to limit America's deadly opioid crisis.

Tom Marino, Trump's Pick As Drug Czar, Withdraws After Damaging Opioid Report

12:06pm October 17, 2017

by Bill Chappell

The Republican congressman from Pennsylvania is withdrawing days after reports that legislation he sponsored hindered the Drug Enforcement Administration in its fight against the U.S. opioid crisis.

Queue Listen Now