opioids

Changes in behavior, including addiction, that happen during adolescence can be lasting because that's when the brain is forming permanent structures.

A Neuroscientist Explores The Biology Of Addiction In 'Never Enough'

3:46pm February 12, 2019

by Terry Gross

Growing up, Judith Grisel struggled with alcohol, marijuana and cocaine. Now as a neuroscientist, she's working to understand the biological basis of addiction. Her new book is Never Enough.

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U.S. Attorney William McSwain and colleagues announced a civil lawsuit Wednesday in Philadelphia against the nonprofit Safehouse. "We have a responsibility to step in," McSwain says, though he adds, "We're not bringing a criminal case right now."

U.S. Prosecutors Sue To Stop Nation's First Supervised Injection Site For Opioids

3:47pm February 06, 2019

by Bobby Allyn

The U.S. government is intervening to stop the creation of a medical facility in Philadelphia where people could inject heroin without risk of overdose. Canada and Europe already have such sites.

Combining some common antidepressants and opioids can undercut the relief of the painkillers.

Health & Safety

Antidepressants Can Interfere With Pain Relief Of Common Opioids

2:20pm February 06, 2019

by Jonathan Lambert

Some antidepressants inhibit a liver enzyme that converts common opioids into their active form. The interaction may reduce the effectiveness of certain opioids for people taking both medicines.

Families that lost loved ones to the opioid crisis protested outside Suffolk Superior Court in Boston as lawyers for Purdue Pharma entered the courthouse for a status update in the Massachusetts attorney general's suit against the company on Jan. 25.

Lawsuit Details How The Sackler Family Allegedly Built An OxyContin Fortune

1:50pm February 01, 2019

The Massachusetts attorney general alleges that the family behind Purdue Pharma knew that OxyContin was causing overdoses, yet continued to cash in. New documents in the case were released Thursday.

Steep Climb In Benzodiazepine Prescribing By Primary Care Doctors

6:40pm January 25, 2019

by Rhitu Chatterjee

U.S. prescriptions for Valium, Ativan and other benzodiazepines have shot up since 2003, statistics show, especially for chronic pain. Roughly half those prescriptions are from primary care providers.

When a former patient died from a lethal combination of methadone and Benadryl, Dr. Ako Jacintho got a letter from the state medical board.

California Doctors Alarmed As State Links Their Opioid Prescriptions to Deaths

5:55pm January 23, 2019

by April Dembosky

The Death Certificate Project aims to weed out doctors who are overprescribing opioids, but some physicians say the investigations are having a chilling effect on the legitimate treatment of pain.

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Health & Safety

New Data Suggest Possible Break In Surge Of NC Opioid Deaths

7:45am January 18, 2019

by Paul Garber

More than 1,800 hundred people died from opioid-related overdoses in North Carolina in 2017.

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A filing by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey detailed the Sackler family's role in Purdue Pharma's marketing of OxyContin.

Health & Safety

Massachusetts Attorney General Implicates Family Behind Purdue Pharma In Opioid Deaths

9:30am January 16, 2019

In a detailed memorandum, Attorney General Maura Healey alleges eight Sackler family members and nine Purdue board members or executives played key roles in the nation's deadly opioid epidemic.

The 2016 viral photo of a couple passed out in a car while a child sits in the back seat triggered a painful moment of self-reflection in East Liverpool, Ohio. The community took steps to address its addiction problem, but progress has been spotty.

Health & Safety

'Nowhere To Go But Up ' — A Small Town Confronts Its Addiction Crisis

1:27pm December 15, 2018

by Ian Brown

Two years after East Liverpool, Ohio, gained notoriety from a viral photo of an overdosed couple, the community is coming to terms with its addiction problem — and taking tentative steps forward.

A view inside Rhode Island's John J. Moran Medium Security Prison, in Cranston. Rhode Island is the only state to screen every individual who comes into the correctional system for opioid use disorder, and to offer, in conjunction with with counseling, al

Rhode Island Prisons Push To Get Inmates The Best Treatment For Opioid Addiction

8:19pm November 19, 2018

The state has started to reduce overdose deaths by offering counseling and medication for opioid addiction in prison. Research finds the treatment helps inmates avoid relapse after release.

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