opioid

Health & Safety

Another Drug Crisis: Methamphetamine Use By Pregnant Women

11:27pm November 29, 2018

by Rhitu Chatterjee

As illegal meth use has made a comeback across the U.S., pregnant women have not been spared, doctors say. New research shows rural areas in the South, Midwest and West have been hit hardest.

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Food and Drug Administration Commissioner Scott Gottlieb, testifying before a House subcommittee in May. There are "very tight restrictions" being placed on the distribution and use of Dsuvia, Gottlieb said Friday in addressing the FDA's approval of the n

Despite Warnings, FDA Approves Potent New Opioid Painkiller

3:27pm November 02, 2018

by Jake Harper

Critics, including some leading anesthesiologists, say the drug is unnecessary, and they worry it will be diverted and abused. The Food And Drug Administration says it is addressing safety concerns.

Paramedic Larrecsa Cox (center) and her quick-response team, including police Officer Stephanie Coffey (left) and Pastor Virgil Johnson (right), check in at the home in Huntington, W.Va., of someone who was revived a few days before from an overdose.

Knocking On Doors To Get Opioid Overdose Survivors Into Treatment

7:22am October 24, 2018

by Sarah McCammon

Within days of an OD from opioids or other drugs, users in Huntington, W.Va., are visited by a quick-response team at home, the hospital or in jail. Reversing an OD is just recovery's first step.

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The contents of the naloxone kit inside an AED box located in the VA West Roxbury cafeteria.

VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response

7:44am September 27, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.

Barb Williamson runs several sobriety houses in Pennsylvania, commercially run homes where residents support each other in their recovery from opioid addiction. Initially, she says, she saw the use of Suboxone or methadone by residents as "a crutch," and

Many 'Recovery Houses' Won't Let Residents Use Medicine To Quit Opioids

5:42am September 12, 2018

by Nina Feldman

Evidence shows the drugs methadone and buprenorphine can help people recover from opioid use disorder by reducing withdrawal symptoms and cravings. So why do many sobriety facilities ban their use?

Baby boomers who use marijuana seem to be using it more often than in previous years, a recent survey finds — 5.7 percent of respondents ages 50 to 64 said they'd tried it in the past month. The drug is also gaining popularity among people in their 70s

More Older Americans Are Turning To Marijuana

5:00am September 12, 2018

by Mara Gordon

As marijuana gains popularity among people 65 and older, geriatricians call for more research on how it affects elderly patients. Shifts in metabolism as we age can intensify any drug's side effects.

Dispatches From A 'Dopesick' America

4:08pm August 21, 2018

by Dave Davies

Author Beth Macy details opioids' odyssey from medicine to scourge, in her book about young heroin users, their long-suffering parents, doctors, drug company executives, cops, judges and drug dealers.

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Victoria gave birth to her daughter Lili while in treatment for opioid dependency.

Babies Born Dependent On Opioids Need Touch, Not Tech

6:03pm August 16, 2018

by Alex Smith

A pediatrician is working to make sure every hospital in Kansas can give babies with neonatal abstinence syndrome the soft start they need, ideally right next to their mothers.

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Melania Trump blows bubbles in a playroom with children during a visit to Monroe Carell Jr. Children's Hospital in Nashville, Tenn., on Tuesday. The first lady was promoting her "Be Best" campaign to help children.

Politics & Government

After A Slow Start, Melania Trump Hits The Road For 'Be Best'

10:29pm July 24, 2018

by Sarah McCammon

The rollout of the first lady's policy initiative was delayed by her illness and hospitalization in May, but the White House says she'll be making more appearances in the weeks to come.

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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