Opiates

“Health Commissioner Leana Wen will join other health directors across the country today in asking the federal government to require a ‘black box warning’...

From The New York Times: For decades, America has waged an ineffective war on illicit drug dealers and drug lords. However, we have failed to...

From The Conversation: A Saskatchewan judge recently rejected a proposed settlement between the Canadian provinces and Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, over the opioid...

The UK Independent reports that Ireland is moving toward a policy of decriminalizing small amount of drugs like heroin, cocaine, and cannabis in what amounts to a “radical cultural shift.” While it would remain a crime to profit from the sale of these substances, users will have specially designated areas for safe use. The chief of Ireland’s National Drugs Strategy told the paper: “I am firmly of the view that there needs to be a cultural shift in how we regard substance misuse if we are to break this cycle and make a serious attempt to tackle drug and alcohol addiction.”

From STAT: President Trump has nominated Indiana's health commissioner, Dr. Jerome Adams, to be the next surgeon general. Adams has played a critical role in...

From The Guardian: The British government has ordered an investigation into the growing problem of addiction to prescription drugs such as opioids, benzodiazepines, and antidepressants. Article...

From The Guardian: In a society where unemployment is prevalent and people feel isolated from friends, family, and community, opioid use has become a coping...

In this piece for Esquire, Christopher Glazek profiles the Sacklers, the family that owns the pharmaceutical company that manufactures OxyContin. He investigates how the Sacklers' marketing...

From It's Not Just an Opioid Crisis: The media are saturated with coverage of the familial and community devastation that has resulted from the opioid...

From The Intercept: Newly released documents show that Dr. Scott Gottlieb, President Trump's nominee to lead the FDA, has received almost $45,000 in speaking fees...

From MIT Technology Review: A new app, Triggr, is using smartphone data to track the behavior of people struggling with substance use and addiction, with...

From The Intercept: A new piece of legislation attempting to revolutionize the foster care system recently passed despite significant opposition. The Family First Prevention Services...

Medscape Psychiatry reports that the “man-made epidemic” of opioid abuse in the United States is the result of over-prescription and poor research.

From The Herald: MSP (Member of the Scottish Parliament) Michelle Ballantyne has spoken out about the epidemic of withdrawal effects of prescription pills, critiquing physicians'...

From HealthNewsReview.org: In light of the opioid crisis, lawmakers are growing increasingly concerned about financial conflicts of interest in patient advocacy groups. Ontario has enacted...

From ACEs Connection: According to Dr. Daniel Sumrok, director of the Center for Addiction Sciences at the University of Tennessee, addiction is a normal response to...

From The New York Times: A new study shows that doctors may be overprescribing opioid pain medication to women who have had cesarean sections. Article →­

From RevHub: The city of Baltimore is facing an unprecedented opioid overdose epidemic. Due to skyrocketing drug prices, the city is running out of funds...

From CBC News: A McMaster University committee has been assigned to develop new opioid-prescribing guidelines for Canada's doctors. While the rules explicitly prohibited anyone with ties...

From STAT: Proove Biosciences, which sold dubious DNA tests to predict opioid addiction risk, has been placed into court-ordered receivership for restructuring and asset sale. Experts...

From Scientific American: Increasing prescription rates of opioid painkillers are often blamed for America's current opioid crisis. However, a growing body of research suggests that...