The toll of the opioid epidemic is often derived from toxicology reports. These rely on drug tests. A medical historian explains these tests and how they fall short of capturing why people are dying.
Naloxone counteracts the effects of an overdose.
Ethypharm
There are proven ways to reduce drug deaths. Unfortunately, the UK government is not implementing them.
U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams demonstrates the proper procedure for administering a nasal injection of naloxone on reporter Jennifer Lott, left, during a visit to the University of Mississippi Medical Center in Jackson, Miss., May 17, 2018.
AP Photo/Rogelio V. Solis
Cyrus Ahalt, University of California, San Francisco
One study argues that naloxone increases opioid use because it protects against death from overdose. But a closer analysis shows Narcan is the number one public health tool to fight the overdose epidemic.
Chris Burkett deposits old needles at a needle exchange program in Aberdeen, Wash., June 14, 2017.
AP Photo/David Goldman
Opioids kill 100 people each day in the US, more than vehicular accidents. Those addicted are often left without treatment. An addiction researcher offers six steps to address the epidemic.
A woman holds a photo of her best friend, who died of a drug overdose in January 2017, before a march to draw attention to the opioid overdose epidemic, in the Downtown Eastside of Vancouver, B.C.
(THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck)
Catastrophic increases in opioid overdose deaths across Canada require a broad response -- tackling housing, food and income insecurity as well as the contaminated drug supply.
President Donald Trump displays a presidential memorandum he signed, declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency in the East Room of the White House, Oct. 26, 2017, in Washington.
(AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)
Opioids kill an average of eight people every day in Canada. The federal government must officially declare this a 'public welfare emergency' and invest the funds critical to a humane response.
Paul Wright, in treatment for opioid addiction in June 2017 at the Neil Kennedy Recovery Clinic in Youngstown Ohio, shows a photo of himself from 2015, when he almost died from an overdose.
AP Photo/David Dermer
The number of people dying from opioid overdose continues to rise, in part because of cheap street drugs. Yet the price of a drug used to treat addiction is out of reach for many.
Most people who take carfentanil think they’re taking something else, usually heroin.
from www.shutterstock.com.au
Carfentanil is an ultra-potent synthetic opioid. Its only legitimate use is in veterinary practice for large animals such as elephants, but it sneaks into heroin shipments to increase its potency.
Opiates have emerged as a significant threat to public health in the UK.
Naloxone has been made available over the counter from a pharmacist so loved-ones of drug users can have it on hand in the event of an overdose.
from www.shutterstock.com.au
It is thought that in 2002 fentanyl, or a drug based on fentanyl, was used by Russian special forces to disable Chechen rebels after a four day stand off in the Dubrovka theatre in Moscow.
President Obama hugs Carey Dixon, who has a loved one affected by addiction. Via REUTERS.
REUTERS/Kevin Lamarque
The Senate passed a bill July 13 to address the opioid epidemic. Georgia recently passed a bill that would limit rather than expand the number of treatment centers. Could others follow suit?
Ever wondered how the small, white ibuprofen pill turns off your headache?
from shutterstock.com
Have you ever wondered how the small white ibuprofen pill turns off your headache? Or how a regular antidepressant keeps your brain chemistry in balance?
Most opioid overdoses occur among experienced users.
Alexander Trinitatov/Flickr
Many first responders’ – even some university police officers – are carrying a new tool in their first-aid kits. It’s naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote drug, and today it’s more widely available than…
Existing evidence for distributing naloxone to prevent overdose deaths is weak.
intropin/Flickr
It’s now almost two years since ACT chief minister and minister for health, Katy Gallagher, launched Australia’s first program to distribute naloxone to prevent heroin overdoses. Other states have followed…