opioids

After minor surgeries, many dentists used to reflexively prescribe quick-acting opioids to relieve a patient's pain. Now they're learning to counsel patients about better, less addictive alternatives.

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show North Carolina has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.

Whether it's toddlers mistaking pills for candy or teenagers taking opioids on purpose, the huge rise in access to opioid painkillers has led to more children being poisoned and hospitalized.

It is still rare for a person struggling with alcohol abuse to be prescribed naltrexone or acamprosate, two medications that have been proven to help. Efforts are underway to change that.

It can be very hard to find medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, but most doctors who provide it do so for just a small number of patients, a study finds.

Illicit drug use runs in cycles, and right now young adults are favoring marijuana over opioids or amphetamines. But they're still indulging a lot less than people in the baby boom generation.