News

2709, 2019

Mental Ills May Put Veterans at Higher Odds for Heart Trouble

September 27th, 2019|

Mental Ills May Put Veterans at Higher Odds for Heart Trouble Tuesday, Sept. 24, 2019 HealthDay News Veterans who suffer from depression, anxiety, psychosis or bipolar disorder are more likely to suffer a heart attack, [...]

2009, 2019

These Newborn Babies Cry for Drugs, Not Milk

September 20th, 2019|

These Newborn Babies Cry for Drugs, Not Milk By Nicholas Kristof September 7, 2019 CHARLESTON, W.Va. — His body dependent on opioids, he writhes, trembles and cries. He is exhausted but cannot sleep. He vomits, barely [...]

1809, 2019

Death, made in Mexico: Traffickers embrace fentanyl

September 18th, 2019|

Death, made in Mexico: Traffickers embrace fentanyl By KATE LINTHICUM September 1, 2019   Melissa and Daryl McKinsey first heard about “Mexican Oxy” last year when their 19-year-old son Parker called in tears. “I need to [...]

1809, 2019

Reno community celebrates ‘International Overdose Awareness Day’

September 18th, 2019|

Reno community celebrates 'International Overdose Awareness Day'   by Zachary Slotemaker August 29, 2019 RENO, Nev. (News 4 & Fox 11) — Around a hundred Reno community members came together Thursday afternoon for "International Overdose Awareness Day." [...]

2109, 2018

U.S. Surgeon General’s Spotlight on Opioids

September 21st, 2018|

The Spotlight on Opioids assembles opioid-related information from the Surgeon General’s Report on Alcohol, Drugs, and Health into one document to better inform the general public, especially family and friends of people with an elevated [...]

2007, 2018

A Surge In Meth Use In Colorado Complicates Opioid Recovery

July 20th, 2018|

Heard on Weekend Edition Saturday JOHN DALEY Huddled at a computer screen at the Denver Recovery Group, counselor Melissa McConnell looks at the latest urinalysis results for her client, Sara Florence. Last fall, it lit [...]

2905, 2018

More U.S. kids overdosing on ADHD drugs

May 29th, 2018|

By Lisa Rapaport The surge in U.S. kids taking medication for attention-deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) is having an unintended side effect, a new study suggests: more children and teens are overdosing on these drugs. Nationwide, [...]

2905, 2018

As ADHD Diagnoses Increased, So Did Calls to Poison Control

May 29th, 2018|

By Gaby Galvin A NEW STUDY IS SOUNDING the alarm about misuse of medication for attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. There were 156,365 calls to poison control centers for people under 20 who were improperly exposed to ADHD medication [...]

2905, 2018

What Explains The Rising Overdose Rate Among Latinos?

May 29th, 2018|

By Martha Bebinger The tall, gangly man twists a cone of paper in his hands as stories from nearly 30 years of addiction pour out: the robbery that landed him in prison at 17; never [...]

1505, 2018

The Pain Hustlers

May 15th, 2018|

By Evan Hughes Selling drugs is a relationship business. It’s best to do it in person. That is why, on a summer evening in 2012, Alec Burlakoff was out for dinner with Steven Chun, the [...]

1405, 2018

5 unintended consequences of addressing the opioid crisis

May 14th, 2018|

By SARAH KARLIN-SMITH and BRIANNA EHLEY The crackdown on opioids is having unintended consequences. The push for fewer opioid prescriptions at lower doses and for shorter periods has increased suffering for some pain patients including those near the [...]

1405, 2018

Surgeon general says opioid addiction harming U.S. economy

May 14th, 2018|

By Dave Sharos U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams believes the problem of opioid addiction is not only affecting the nation’s health, but the economy and our security as well. “The facts are that seven out [...]

2603, 2018

Certain Teens More Likely to Get Hooked on Opioids

March 26th, 2018|

By Dennis Thompson MONDAY, March 12, 2018 (HealthDay News) -- Teenagers with any mental health problem are more prone to painkiller dependence after receiving a prescription opioid, a new study finds. The odds of progressing [...]

1303, 2018

Rehab Riviera: Addiction advertising can trick you to death

March 13th, 2018|

By TERI SFORZA People looking to quit alcohol or other drugs typically find treatment the same way they might search for take-out food or a mechanic – by typing search words into Google. Once there, addicts [...]

1303, 2018

Jump In Overdoses Shows Opioid Epidemic Has Worsened

March 13th, 2018|

By Rob Stein There's more bad news about the nation's devastating opioid epidemic. In just one year, overdoses from opioids jumped by about 30 percent, according to a report released Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. [...]

1303, 2018

The Opioid Crisis Is Surging In Black, Urban Communities

March 13th, 2018|

By Marisa Penaloza The current drug addiction crisis began in rural America, but it's quickly spreading to urban areas and into the African-American population in cities across the country. "It's a frightening time," says Dr. [...]

2102, 2018

How best to treat opioids’ youngest sufferers? No one knows.

February 21st, 2018|

LINDSEY TANNER Two babies, born 15 months apart to the same young woman overcoming opioid addiction. Two very different treatments. Sarah Sherbert’s first child was whisked away to a hospital special-care nursery for two weeks [...]

2002, 2018

Why the opioid epidemic may have fueled America’s murder spike

February 20th, 2018|

By German Lopez Over the past few years, America saw its murder rate rise — in 2015, 2016, and, according to the most recent data, the first half of 2017. Meanwhile, an opioid epidemic has led to the deadliest [...]

1202, 2018

Failing health of the United States

February 12th, 2018|

By Steven H Woolf, director Laudan Aron, senior fellow The role of challenging life conditions and the policies behind them Life expectancy in the US has fallen for the second year in a row.1 This is alarming because [...]

102, 2018

Opioid epidemic top priority for surgeon general

February 1st, 2018|

BY Alvin Powell The opioid epidemic is U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ top priority and his position’s bully pulpit is his most potent weapon to effect change. Because of that, Adams has publicly shared his own [...]

2501, 2018

Risk of opioid misuse jumps 44% with each refill, study finds

January 25th, 2018|

By Brian Zimmerman While most clinical efforts to mitigate the risk of opioid misuse have focused on limiting dosage levels, reducing the length of an opioid prescription actually has greater influence over the risk of [...]

2912, 2017

Pharmacists Play Key Role in Protecting Children from Prescription Meds

December 29th, 2017|

By Anthony Vecchione India pharmaceutical giant Dr. Reddy’s Laboratories, recently settled a case with the U.S. Justice Department regarding prescription drug packaging that had not undergone proper testing for child safety, as required by the U.S. [...]

2911, 2017

Overcoming Opioids: Struggles for Recovery

November 29th, 2017|

It’s hard to say whether businessman Kyle Graves hit rock bottom when he shot himself in the ankle so emergency room doctors would feed his opioid habit or when he broke into a safe to [...]

2011, 2017

New App Maps Overdose Epidemic in Real Time

November 20th, 2017|

By Christine Vestal In the summer of 2016, drug overdose deaths in Baltimore were exploding and health commissioner Dr. Leana Wen told federal Drug Enforcement Administration officials the city needed real-time data to better manage its [...]

3010, 2017

Drug OD Rate Now Higher in Rural U.S. Than Cities: CDC

October 30th, 2017|

By Robert Preidt Friday, October 20, 2017 FRIDAY, Oct. 20, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose death rates in rural areas of the United States are now higher than in cities, a trend that worries [...]

2610, 2017

Nearly a Third of College Kids Think ADHD Meds Boost Grades

October 26th, 2017|

MONDAY, Oct. 16, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Many college students who abuse ADHD drugs mistakenly believe that doing so will lead to better grades, a new survey suggests. Past research has found that college students [...]

3108, 2017

Study: Opioid Users Don’t See Overdose as Wakeup Call

August 31st, 2017|

By Matt Wynn, Staff Writer, MedPage Today August 23, 2017 Turns out, even a close call with an overdose isn't enough to deter opioid users. As described in a JAMA research letter, Julie M. Donohue, PhD, of the University of [...]

3108, 2017

Hospices Struggle to Stop Opioid Theft When Patients Die at Home

August 31st, 2017|

by Kaiser Health News Nothing seemed to help the patient — and hospice staff didn’t know why. They sent home more painkillers for weeks. But the elderly woman, who had severe dementia and incurable breast cancer, [...]

3008, 2017

The Pains of Prescribing Opioids

August 30th, 2017|

By Suneel Kamath, MD August 21, 2017 Most doctors would say they went into medicine to help people by making them feel better or live longer. Sometimes helping people means refusing to do what they want. One [...]

3008, 2017

Dentists: On the Front Line of the Opioid Epidemic

August 30th, 2017|

By Erin McHenry For years, family gatherings had become contentious for Harold Tu, D.M.D., M.D., director of the Division of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery at the University of Minnesota School of Dentistry.  Somehow, conversations always drifted to opioids. [...]

3008, 2017

Teen drug overdose death rate climbed 19% in one year

August 30th, 2017|

By Nadia Kounang, CNN (CNN) The rate of teen drug overdose deaths in the United States climbed 19% from 2014 to 2015, from 3.1 deaths per 100,000 teens to 3.7 per 100,000, according to data released [...]

2408, 2017

U.S. Opioid Crisis Continues to Worsen

August 24th, 2017|

By Dennis Thompson TUESDAY, Aug. 8, 2017 (HealthDay News) -- Drug overdose deaths continue to climb in the United States, despite efforts to combat the nation's ongoing opioid addiction crisis, a new federal report states. The [...]

2308, 2017

Trump says opioids are a national emergency. Here’s what happens next.

August 23rd, 2017|

By Christopher Ingraham President Trump on Thursday said he considers the opioid crisis to be “a national emergency,” starting a process aimed at giving the federal and state governments more resources and flexibility to deal with the epidemic. “The [...]

1105, 2017

Opioid-Related Deaths Might Be Underestimated: CDC

May 11th, 2017|

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter April 25, 2017 America's prescription drug abuse epidemic may be even more deadly than expected, a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggests. Some opioid-related [...]

2004, 2017

Deadly Fentanyl Changes the Rules for Those Who Abuse Opioids

April 20th, 2017|

By Martha Bebinger WBUR April 11, 2017 There's a clear culprit in the rising drug overdose death count in Massachusetts -- the synthetic opioid fentanyl. More powerful and more deadly than heroin, fentanyl has sparked [...]

2903, 2017

Kids Getting Hands on Adults’ Pain Pills, Study Finds

March 29th, 2017|

By JoAnne Viviano The Columbus Dispatch March 20,2017 Poison-control centers nationwide receive calls about children and teenagers exposed to opioid-prescription pain pills an average of 32 times a day, a new study shows. That's once [...]

2903, 2017

Opioid Painkillers and Xanax or Valium a Deadly Mix: Study

March 29th, 2017|

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay News March 15, 2017 Mixing opioid painkillers with common anxiety and sleep medications is a prescription for a deadly overdose, a new U.S. study shows. Of all fatal overdoses from narcotic medications, [...]

1503, 2017

After The Save: A Drug Can Reverse an Overdose. Then What?

March 15th, 2017|

By: Arielle Levin Becker  The Connecticut Mirror January 25, 2017 Dr. William Horgan has seen his share of patients go through life-changing experiences – and the changes that come from them. “A chronic smoker who [...]

1602, 2017

Opioids and Alcohol a Dangerous Cocktail

February 16th, 2017|

Healthday News February 8, 2017 Drinking alcohol while taking powerful opioid painkillers can trigger a potentially deadly respiratory problem, particularly in seniors, a new study warns. "Unfortunately, we're seeing more fatalities and people in emergency [...]

1602, 2017

Kids of the Opioid Epidemic Find Out They’re Not Alone

February 16th, 2017|

By Reilly Capps Rooster January 30, 2017 They are the smallest victims of America's biggest drug crisis. In a nondescript brick building in Aurora, Colo., a bunch of kids, ranging in age from age 7 [...]

2401, 2017

What’s Next After Naloxone?

January 24th, 2017|

By Tessie Castillo The Fix January 1, 2017 Naloxone has saved countless lives from overdose, but first responders are finding themselves reviving the same people over and over again. Where do we go from here? [...]

2401, 2017

Cambridge PD Getting Results From Program to Break Narcan Cycle

January 24th, 2017|

Fox News 25 January 11, 2017 The front lines to battle drug addiction has gotten more aggressive in Cambridge, with police adding a new technique to connect people to help. For one recovering heroin addict, [...]

501, 2017

Drug Overdose Deaths Climb Dramatically in U.S.

January 5th, 2017|

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay December 20, 2016 Drug overdose deaths continue to surge in the United States, with most fatalities linked to the illicit use of prescription painkillers, new government statistics reveal. Drug overdose deaths increased [...]

501, 2017

OxyContin Goes Global — “We’re Only Just Getting Started”

January 5th, 2017|

By Harriet Ryan, Lisa Girton & Scott Glover Los Angeles Times December 18, 2016 OxyContin is a dying business in America. This is the third part of a Los Angeles Times investigation exploring the role of OxyContin [...]

501, 2017

The Opioid Crisis Sweeps Through Cherokee Nation

January 5th, 2017|

By Megan Thielking STAT DECEMBER 15, 2016 Dr. Anna Miller sits with her legs pulled up, boots kicked off, in an exam chair at Cherokee Nation W.W. Hastings Hospital. She’s waiting for her first Suboxone patient [...]

501, 2017

As Opioids Ravage the U.S., Teen Students Show Steady Decline in Use

January 5th, 2017|

By Kimberly Leonard U.S. News December 13, 2016 High school students are trying opioids like prescription painkillers and heroin less and less, a new study shows, even amid an opioid epidemic that's contributing to an alarming [...]

501, 2017

Where Opiates Killed the Most People in 2015

January 5th, 2017|

By Christopher Ingraham The Washington Post December 13, 2016 More than 33,000 people died of opioid overdoses in the United States last year.But speaking of an “opiate epidemic” is in some ways a misnomer. The latest data from [...]

501, 2017

Opioid Epidemic is Getting Worse, Says CDC

January 5th, 2017|

By Steve Almasy CNN December 9, 2016 The number of deaths from overdoses of illicit opioids rose sharply again in 2015, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention announced Thursday. "The epidemic of deaths involving [...]

501, 2017

Rural Hospitals See Surge in Opioid-Dependent Babies

January 5th, 2017|

By Alan Mozes HealthDay December 12, 2016 Rural U.S. communities are seeing a surge in infants experiencing opioid withdrawal at birth because of widespread drug abuse by pregnant women, a new study finds. These tiny victims [...]

1412, 2016

The Great Opioid Epidemic

December 14th, 2016|

By Editorial Board The Washington Post December 11, 2016 AN ALL-TIME record 52,404 Americans died from drug overdoses in 2015, according to the latest datareleased Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Once [...]

1412, 2016

Former Execs Charged With Bribing Doctors to Prescribe Potent Painkiller

December 14th, 2016|

By DAVID ARMSTRONG STAT News DECEMBER 8, 2016 The former chief executive of Insys Therapeutics and several other former executives were arrested Thursday on federal charges of conspiring to bribe doctors to prescribe a prescription version [...]

1711, 2016

New Smartphone App Helps Doctors Treat Opioid Addiction

November 17th, 2016|

By Thomas G. Ciccone Practical Pain Managment October 21, 2016 With a new push to combat the opioid abuse epidemic, the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) has launched a new smartphone app [...]

1711, 2016

The drug industry’s answer to opioid addiction: More pills

November 17th, 2016|

By Ariana Eunjung Cha The Washington Post October 16, 2016 UNNATURAL CAUSES SICK AND DYING IN SMALL-TOWN AMERICA: Since the turn of this century, death rates have risen for whites in midlife, particularly women. In [...]

2010, 2016

Opioid crisis in rural areas may be tackled through telemedicine

October 20th, 2016|

By Shefali Luthra The Washington Post September 27, 2016 GILES COUNTY, Va. — Robert Devereaux is a family physician in this southwest corner of Virginia, where problems surrounding prescription opioid use far outstrip the capacity of [...]

2010, 2016

Countless Opioid Pills Unused by Dental-Surgery Patients

October 20th, 2016|

HealthDay News Sept. 27, 2016 More than half of the narcotic painkillers prescribed after wisdom teeth removal go unused, according to a new study that suggests this could contribute to the U.S. opioid epidemic. "When [...]

2010, 2016

There are more opioid prescriptions than people in Tennessee

October 20th, 2016|

By: Holly Fletcher The Tennessean September 19, 2016 Health care professionals in Tennessee last year wrote more than 7.8 million opioid prescriptions — or 1.18 for every man, woman and child — even as the state grapples with a scourge [...]

2709, 2016

Drugmakers Fought State Opioid Limits Amid Crisis

September 27th, 2016|

By The Associated Press September 18, 2016 The makers of prescription painkillers have adopted a 50-state strategy that includes hundreds of lobbyists and millions in campaigning contributions to help kill or weaken measures aimed at [...]

1509, 2016

Risky Alone, Deadly Together

September 15th, 2016|

By: Kimberly Kindy, Dan Keating The Washington Post August 31, 2016 Karen Franklin leans against the sink in the pink-tiled bathroom of her childhood home, counting out pills. There’s a purple morphine tablet for chronic back [...]

809, 2016

FDA requires strong warnings for opioid analgesics, prescription opioid cough products, and benzodiazepine labeling related to serious risks and death from combined use

September 8th, 2016|

After an extensive review of the latest scientific evidence, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration announced today that it is requiring class-wide changes to drug labeling, including patient information, to help inform health care providers [...]

1808, 2016

Mommy’s Little Helper: The Quiet Side of an Epidemic

August 18th, 2016|

For years, Amanda Fink's mother shared her pain pills as a form of maternal comfort. Her mother had scar tissue after a hysterectomy, and with that came a long-standing prescription for OxyContin. "When I was [...]

1808, 2016

Fake Xanax Cut With Potent Pain Med Can Be a Killer

August 18th, 2016|

By Dennis Thompson HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Aug. 9, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- At least one San Francisco-area drug user died and eight more landed in the ER in late 2015 after taking counterfeit Xanax tablets [...]

1808, 2016

Doctors Urged to Prescribe Lower Doses of Opioids, No Refills

August 18th, 2016|

TUESDAY, Aug. 9, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Patients who are first-time users of pain-killing opioids should be prescribed a small dose without refills to reduce the risk of long-term use and possible addiction, a new [...]

1808, 2016

Improper Medication Use Rising Among Older Adults

August 18th, 2016|

Problems Taking Medications Many older adults take medications that treat health conditions like pain and heart disease. Most take their medications properly, but some older adults have problems taking them the way they should. This [...]

1808, 2016

Pain Raises Risk of Opioid Addiction

August 18th, 2016|

FRIDAY, July 22, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- The more pain they have, the more likely people are to become addicted to powerful prescription opioid painkillers, a new study suggests. "In light of the national opioid [...]

1407, 2016

Are We Ignoring an Escalating Benzodiazapine Epidemic?

July 14th, 2016|

By Indra Cidambi MD 06/09/16 Deaths from benzodiazepine overdose have grown at a faster rate than deaths from opiate overdose each year for thirteen consecutive years. What can we do now to arrest or reverse [...]

1407, 2016

FDA panel backs approval of Pfizer’s opioid painkiller

July 14th, 2016|

BY TONI CLARKE A U.S. advisory panel on Wednesday recommended approval of Pfizer Inc's long-acting opioid painkiller Troxyca ER, saying it dulls pain and its design could deter abuse by addicts in search of a [...]

1407, 2016

I’m a stay-at-home mom. I’m an addict.

July 14th, 2016|

By Jen Simon June 6, 2016 Since his death, there have been countless articles speculating why a man as rich and famous as Prince would “allow” himself to become addicted to painkillers. But no one [...]

1407, 2016

Drug Monitoring Programs Do Curb Overdose Deaths: Study

July 14th, 2016|

THURSDAY, June 23, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- Drug monitoring programs appear to help reduce deaths from prescription painkillers called opioids, a new study finds. In an effort to curb overdose deaths from powerful painkillers such [...]

2206, 2016

Deaths from the drug that killed Prince are skyrocketing in N.J.

June 22nd, 2016|

By Stephen Stirling NJ Advance Media for NJ.com June 16, 2016 Fentanyl, an opioid up to 50 times more powerful than heroin, is killing New Jersey residents at a skyrocketing rate, representing a deadly new wrinkle [...]

2206, 2016

Pain Pill Addiction Test

June 22nd, 2016|

Understand your relationship with opiate pain medicines with this simple test Each person’s pathway to opiate addiction is as unique as their pain diagnosis. The following questionnaire is an opportunity for you to better determine [...]

2206, 2016

An E.R. Kicks the Habit of Opioids for Pain

June 22nd, 2016|

By Jan Hoffman June 10, 2016 PATERSON, N.J. — Brenda Pitts sat stiffly in an emergency room cubicle, her face contorted by pain. An old shoulder injury was radiating fresh agony down to her elbow [...]

2206, 2016

US Surgeon General, tribal leaders work to combat addiction

June 22nd, 2016|

By MICHELLE CHARLES Associated Press Sunday, May 29, 2016 STILLWATER, Okla. (AP) - The crisis of addiction hasn’t spared any demographic or any state, including Oklahoma. The Trust for America’s Health ranked Oklahoma fifth-highest for [...]

3105, 2016

Prescription Painkillers May Worsen And Lengthen Chronic Pain

May 31st, 2016|

News from a research team studying the effects of opioids may help explain the explosion in prescription painkiller addictions of the last several years. A University of Colorado-Boulder studyhas found that opioid use increases chronic pain in rats. If the [...]

3105, 2016

FDA approves first-ever implant for opioid addiction treatment

May 31st, 2016|

BY: Dan Mangan, CNBC The first-ever implant used to treat opioid addiction won approval from federal regulators Thursday, providing yet another weapon in the battle against an epidemic of opioid use. The Probuphine device approved by [...]

3105, 2016

Parents Often Don’t Get Rid of Leftover Prescription Opioids

May 31st, 2016|

MONDAY, May 16, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- When children are prescribed opioid painkillers, such as Oxycontin or Percocet, for surgery or illness, about half of parents say they keep the leftover medicine on hand. "We [...]

3105, 2016

OxyContin’s 12-Hour Problem

May 31st, 2016|

by HARRIET RYAN, LISA GIRION AND SCOTT GLOVER MAY 5, 2016 The drugmaker Purdue Pharma launched OxyContin two decades ago with a bold marketing claim: One dose relieves pain for 12 hours, more than twice [...]

3105, 2016

Painkiller critics take aim at hospital surveys, procedures

May 31st, 2016|

By: Tribune news services    Contact Reporter Critics of how prescription painkillers are administered in the U.S. are calling on health officials to phase out hospital procedures and questionnaires used to manage pain. They say the current [...]

704, 2016

Fatal Overdoses Rising From Sedatives Like Valium, Xanax

April 7th, 2016|

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter THURSDAY, Feb. 18, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- While deaths from overdoses of heroin and narcotic painkillers like Oxycontin have surged in recent years, a new report finds the same thing [...]

704, 2016

Factors Predicting the Transition from Prescription Opioids to Heroin

April 7th, 2016|

Prescription opioid misuse remains one of America’s biggest drug problems. In recent years the numbers of people misusing prescription pain relievers has leveled off, however, the number of people dying from overdoses continues to rise, [...]

2302, 2016

Misuse Of ADHD Drugs By Young Adults Drives Rise In ER Visits

February 23rd, 2016|

By Allison Aubrey NPR News It's no secret that stimulant medications such as Adderall that are prescribed to treat symptoms of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are sometimes used as "study drugs" aimed at boosting cognitive [...]

2302, 2016

Survey Shows Doctors May be Neglecting an Important Question

February 23rd, 2016|

By Aiden Strawhun Naples Herald A new study finds that roughly half of the people who have taken pain medications in the past year were not asked a vital question that could save their lives, from [...]

2302, 2016

Doctors brainstorm how to halt the prescription painkiller epidemic

February 23rd, 2016|

By Sandy Ong Scienceline The United States is suffering from an explosive epidemic. Every day, 44 people die from overdosing on prescription opioid painkillers, a rate that has quadrupled since 1999. To help physicians battling [...]

2302, 2016

Federal pain panel rife with links to pharma companies

February 23rd, 2016|

By Matthew Perrone AP Health Writer WASHINGTON (AP) - Nearly a third of the members on a government panel that made headlines by calling an effort to curb overprescribing of OxyContin and other painkillers "horrible," [...]

2302, 2016

Long-term opioid use linked to depression

February 23rd, 2016|

By Agata Blaszczak Boxe People who take prescription opioids, which are used for treating pain, for longer than a month may have an increased risk of developing depression, according to a new study. Pain itself [...]

701, 2016

Prescriptions Continue for Most Who Survive Painkiller ODs: Study

January 7th, 2016|

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter Even as overdoses from narcotic prescription painkiller reach record levels in the United States, a new report finds that most people who survive such events continue to be prescribed the [...]

701, 2016

Painkillers Often Gateway to Heroin for U.S. Teens: Survey

January 7th, 2016|

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter Three-quarters of U.S. high school students who use heroin first tried narcotic painkillers, a new survey reveals. Survey results from nearly 68,000 high school seniors provide some clues to heroin's [...]

3112, 2015

Popping pills: Examining the use of ‘study drugs’ during finals

December 31st, 2015|

By Collin Brennan Christopher Newport University As college students across the country cram for their finals this week, many will turn to the use of “study drugs” to get through the stresses of exams. Prescription [...]

3112, 2015

How to cure America’s pain crisis without risking addiction

December 31st, 2015|

By Bob Twillman Foxnews.com The last thing the world needs right now is more suffering. More than 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain,  at an annual cost of $635 billion. That's more than we [...]

3112, 2015

America’s painkiller epidemic grips the workplace

December 31st, 2015|

By Dina Gusovsky CNBC The director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Tom Frieden, recently referred to opioid abuse — including prescription painkillers — as "a growing epidemic that is gripping our country." [...]

3112, 2015

Still In a Crib, But Being Given Antipsychotics

December 31st, 2015|

By Alan Schwarz The New York Times Andrew Rios's seizures began when he was 5 months old and only got worse. At 18 months, when an epilepsy medication resulted in violent behavior, he was prescribed [...]

1911, 2015

Why More Painkiller Addicts Are Using Heroin, Too

November 19th, 2015|

By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter WEDNESDAY, Oct. 28, 2015 (HealthDay News) -- Addicts who have moved from narcotic painkillers to heroin are helping researchers understand this deadly tradeoff. Looking for clues driving concurrent painkiller and [...]

3007, 2015

National Safety Council Prescription Drug Community Action Kit

July 30th, 2015|

To prevent drug overdoses from increasing in your community, the National Safety Council Prescription Drug Community Action Kit offers local organizations guides to: Rid your community of unused prescription drugs Develop programs for saving lives [...]

2204, 2015

Wolf Moves To Get Easy Access To Antidote To Heroin Overdoses

April 22nd, 2015|

A new state law, passed unanimously by the General Assembly, allows police and other first responders to administer a prescription drug called Naloxone or Narcan to anyone who appears to have overdosed. Dr. Neil Capretto, [...]

2204, 2015

Tom Wolf: Expand use of medication that can counteract drug overdoses

April 22nd, 2015|

In too many areas of our state, the disease of addiction has devastating impacts that reverberate across community health, public safety and quality of life in Pennsylvania neighborhoods. Everyday, opioid drug abuse destroys lives and [...]

903, 2015

Is Suboxone® the Best Treatment?

March 9th, 2015|

Recently, The Huffington Post published a lengthy article by Jason Cherkis on the various methods to treat patients with opiate dependence. It was an excellent article that featured a number of personal cases from families [...]

903, 2015

Painkiller Abuses and Ignorance

March 9th, 2015|

The epidemic of deaths and addiction attributable to opioid painkillers continues unabated even as an authoritative new review of scientific studies has found no solid evidence that opioids are effective in relieving long-term chronic pain. [...]

903, 2015

New Federal Painkiller Rules Make Life Difficult for Veterans

March 9th, 2015|

Veterans who take narcotic painkillers are struggling to get monthly appointments at Veterans Affairs (VA) health facilities to renew their prescriptions, as required by new federal rules. The Washington Post reports restrictions adopted by the [...]

903, 2015

Use of Stronger Painkillers on the Rise: Study

March 9th, 2015|

The percentage of Americans who take painkillers stronger than morphine is on the rise, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). These drugs include oxycodone, hydromorphone, fentanyl and [...]

2701, 2015

The Nevada Prescription Drug Monitoring Program

January 27th, 2015|

The Nevada Prescription Drug Monitoring Program (PMP) is a tracking system that allows prescribers and pharmacists to identify if a patient is receiving controlled substance prescriptions from multiple providers.

2701, 2015

How should U.S. regulate powerful painkillers?

January 27th, 2015|

46 People die every day from overdosing on prescription painkillers. “In 2012 alone, the CDC says 259 million prescriptions were written for painkillers, enough to supply every American adult with a bottle of pills.” “According [...]