opioids

Millions of Americans have chronic pain, and coming up with treatment that helps can be a challenge.

Health & Safety

Is There A Way To Keep Using Opioid Painkillers And Reduce Risk?

11:14am November 13, 2017

by Allison Aubrey

As a result of the opioid epidemic, doctors are being urged to turn to other medications to treat chronic pain. But that can be a challenge for people who have used opioid painkillers for years.

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Pharmaceutical Founder Arrested In Alleged Nationwide Opioid Scheme

7:01pm October 26, 2017

by Colin Dwyer

John Kapoor, who co-founded Insys Therapeutics, has been charged with racketeering and fraud for allegedly bribing doctors to overprescribe the company's powerful opioid spray.

Julie Eldred is back at home in Massachusetts now. But she was sentenced to a treatment program for opioid addiction as part of a probation agreement, then sent to jail when she relapsed. Some addiction specialists say that's unjust.

Court To Rule On Whether Relapse By An Addicted Opioid User Should Be A Crime

5:00am October 26, 2017

by Deborah Becker

The high court in Massachusetts is weighing legal and scientific evidence to decide whether a woman convicted of larceny violated the terms of her probation by relapsing into drug use.

Third-year students at the Harvard School of Dental Medicine learn how to trim crowns and prep a tooth for a crown. They're also learning to deal with the aftereffects, studying alternatives to opioids for pain relief.

Dental Schools Add An Urgent Lesson: Think Twice About Prescribing Opioids

7:20pm September 08, 2017

Opioid painkillers prescribed by dentists have helped fuel the nation's addiction epidemic. Dental schools are teaching the next generation of dentists that there are other ways to treat pain.

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Nate Miller is the owner of Express Employment Professionals, a staffing agency in Muncie, Ind., that screens and places workers at local manufacturing companies.

Opioid Crisis Looms Over Job Market, Worrying Employers And Economists

11:19am September 07, 2017

by Yuki Noguchi

Companies across the U.S. say it's getting harder to find applicants and keep workers once they've been hired. Economists from the Federal Reserve to Wall Street say opioid addiction may be a factor.

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The shelter at Houston's Convention Center, seen here Aug. 29, isn't equipped to provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid abuse.

Houston Methadone Clinics Reopen After Harvey's Flooding

9:36am September 06, 2017

by Rebecca Hersher

Hurricane Harvey disrupted treatment for people addicted to opioids. Many need to get connected to a specialty clinic that can provide medication-assisted treatment.

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We might all feel a lot better if we saw a view like this, from the North Shore of Oahu, every day.

Live In Hawaii, And Odds Are You'll Need Fewer Prescription Meds

3:05pm August 31, 2017

People who live in the Aloha State are less likely to use opioid painkillers or be prescribed antibiotics than are mainland dwellers. Healthy lifestyles have a lot to do with that.

Health & Safety

Support Group Helps Families Cope With Opioid Deaths

4:49pm August 18, 2017

by David Ford

This coming Tuesday, the not-for-profit Hospice and Palliative Care of Greensboro&

Dillon Katz, at home in Delray Beach, Fla., says recovering drug users in his group counseling meetings frequently used to offer to help him get into a new treatment facility. He suspects now they were recruiters — so-called "body brokers" — who were

Health & Safety

'Body Brokers' Get Kickbacks To Lure People With Addictions To Bad Rehab

6:49pm August 15, 2017

by Peter Haden

In South Florida, people with health insurance are the target of "body brokers" who can earn lucrative kickbacks — $500 per week — for referring vulnerable patients to centers that bilk insurers.

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A vaccine against heroin wouldn't be like the measles vaccine that you receive once for a lifetime of immunity, say scientists working on it. Multiple shots per year would likely be required, and it would be specific to just heroin and morphine.

Health & Safety

A 'Vaccine For Addiction' Is No Simple Fix

6:22pm August 10, 2017

by Richard Harris

Scientists are trying to develop a vaccine to block the euphoria of heroin without interfering with other pain relief. The Trump administration hopes the approach might help with the opioid epidemic.