opioid

Velva Poole works to reunite children with parents who have been grappling with substance use disorder. Mentoring the parents, she says, is a big part of the state-sponsored program's success.

Opioid Treatment Program Helps Keep Families Together

12:58pm March 28, 2018

by Lisa Gillespie

A mentoring program in Kentucky expedites treatment for some parents who lose custody of their children. The goal is to help parents get and stay sober, and reunite them with their kids within a year.

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.

Queue Listen Now

Huntington, W.V. Fire Chief Jan Rader is a central figure in the Netflix documentary short Heroin(e).

'Heroin(e)': The Women Fighting Addiction In Appalachia

8:11am March 04, 2018

by Renee Montagne

An Oscar-nominated documentary short explores the country's opioid crisis through the heroism of women in Huntington, W.Va. — women like fire chief Jan Rader and drug court judge Patricia Keller.

Francisco Hidalgo prepares to receive a trigger point injection from Dr. Alexis LaPietra (right) at St. Joseph's University Medical Center in Paterson, N.J., while Dr. Tyler Manis observes. An alternative to opioids, the trigger point injection involves d

ER Reduces Opioid Use By More Than Half With Dry Needles, Laughing Gas

7:03pm February 20, 2018

by Hansi Lo Wang

Opioid prescriptions in one of the busiest emergency rooms in the U.S dropped 58 percent in the first year of an unusual program to help stem the opioid epidemic. More hospitals are copying the model.

Queue Listen Now

Philadelphia officials cleared the way for a safe injection site for drug users. But there are many details to work out before the idea can become reality.

Health & Safety

What's Next For 'Safe Injection' Sites In Philadelphia?

3:43pm January 24, 2018

by Elana Gordon

Philadelphia officials gave the OK to establishing safe injection sites for drug users. But it's unclear where the sites would be located and who would fund and operate them.

On Wednesday Walmart began distributing a new solution to help customers dispose of leftover opioid prescriptions. But CDC says, just flush them down the toilet.

Walmart Offers Product To Destroy Leftover Opioids, But Critics Say It's Unnecessary

5:57pm January 17, 2018

by Vanessa Romo

The company billed it as a "first-of-its-kind" item that lets customers turn extra opioid painkillers into trash, but the CDC says just flush the medicine down the toilet.

Will Gersch teaches a class as part of a Colorado Kaiser Permanente pain management clinic.

Pain Management Program Offers An Alternative To Opioids

2:07pm December 29, 2017

by John Daley

Studies show some promising results for new approaches to opioid addiction, but some insurers won't pay for alternative treatments like classes on pain management.

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

Surgeons at the University of Michigan are prescribing fewer opioids to reduce the risk of addiction.

Health & Safety

Surgeons Try Prescribing Fewer Opioids To Lower Addiction Risk

1:27pm December 06, 2017

by Shefali Luthra

Based on research conducted at the University of Michigan, surgeons developed a simple strategy to reduce misuse and abuse of painkillers after surgery: give patients fewer pills.