opioids

Overdoses of hydrocodone and other opioid painkillers caused more than 16,000 deaths in 2013, according to the CDC.

Is Prescription Opioid Abuse A Crime Problem Or A Health Problem?

4:38pm December 03, 2015

by Nancy Shute

People still think that abuse of opioid painkillers is something that criminals do, a study of news media coverage finds. Options like expanded access to treatment are rarely mentioned.

Addiction counselor John Fisher says prescriptions for medicines to help people wean themselves from opioid drugs are part of the appeal of the clinic he operates in Blountville, Tenn.

When Drug Treatment For Narcotic Addiction Never Ends

8:12pm November 20, 2015

Medicines that help users wean themselves from opioid drugs can be prescribed in a doctor's office or clinic. But some clients question whether the clinics always have their best interests at heart.

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Gretchen Burns-Bergman (center) speaks Wednesday at a rally in front of the White House about ending mass incarceration of drug users.

Mothers Who Lost Children To Addiction Unite To Change Laws

4:07pm November 20, 2015

by Angus Chen

Women whose children have become addicted to opioids are working to change laws around the country. They seek improved access to treatment and reduced stigma.

A young boy talks with Tina Cloer, director of the Children's Bureau, in Indianapolis. The nonprofit shelter takes in children from the state's Department of Child Services when a suitable foster family can't be found. Cloer says the average length of sta

Heroin, Opioid Abuse Put Extra Strain On U.S. Foster Care System

6:59pm October 27, 2015

by Jake Harper

Roughly 265,000 U.S. kids entered foster care last year — the highest number since 2008. Officials say the abuse of heroin or prescription painkillers by more parents is one reason for the increase.

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In Boston, Edmund Hassan, a deputy superintendent of emergency medical services, and his colleagues regularly revive people who have overdosed on opioids.

Science

Reversing Opioid Overdoses Saves Lives But Isn't A Cure-All

4:36pm October 07, 2015

by Deborah Becker

Having police, school nurses, drug users and family equipped with kits to reverse an overdose saves lives, doctors say. But reversing addiction requires follow-up care that many users aren't getting.

Doris Keene (right) talks with her acupuncturist before a treatment at Portland's Quest Center for Integrative Health. Keene says the treatments have eased her chronic back pain at least as effectively as the Vicodin and muscle relaxants she once relied o

To Curb Pain Without Opioids, Oregon Looks To Alternative Treatments

4:45pm September 22, 2015

by Kristian Foden-Vencil

Acupuncture and massage haven't been proven to ease pain better than drugs — and may cost more. But Oregon hopes these sorts of alternatives to pills will reduce the societal costs of opioid abuse.

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Katie Serio, director of treatment and prevention at the Council on Alcohol and Substance Abuse of Livingston County, N.Y., trains a group of school nurses to use the overdose antidote naloxone at Dansville High School.

School Nurses Stock Drug To Reverse Opioid Overdoses

5:35pm September 16, 2015

by Michelle Faust

With deaths from heroin and painkillers on the rise, more nurses at high schools and middle schools are prepared to intervene in the event of an overdose on school grounds.

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Heroin sold in the U.S., like this dose confiscated in Alabama last fall, is often cut with other drugs.

Illicit Version Of Painkiller Fentanyl Makes Heroin Deadlier

3:28pm August 27, 2015

by Fred Bever

U.S. drug officials have traced a sharp spike in the already climbing death toll from heroin overdoses to an additive — acetyl fentanyl. The fentanyl is being cooked up in clandestine labs in Mexico.

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A user prepares drugs for injection in 2014 in St. Johnsbury, Vt.

Heroin Use Surges, Especially Among Women And Whites

10:57am July 08, 2015

by Richard Harris

All told, more than half a million Americans used heroin in 2013, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That represents a nearly 150 percent increase since 2007.

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In Cheyenne, Wyo., emergency room patients who show up more than a few times a month requesting pain pills will now be told no, except in dire emergencies. A similar program at a New Mexico hospital cut ER visits by 5 percent annually, and saved $500,000.

Emergency Rooms Crack Down On Abusers Of Pain Pills

2:14pm June 05, 2015

by Miles Bryan

Hospitals in some states have begun tracking the names of patients who show up repeatedly seeking opioids. Denying these patients pills saves hospitals money, but some doctors question the ethics.

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