People without ID, like Steven Kemp, are sometimes turned away from the country’s already threadbare system of drug treatment centers.
Matt Rourke/AP Photo
President Trump declared the opioid epidemic a national emergency. But we need to do a lot more to prevent this crisis from escalating even further.
Baby boomers who drink and take drugs risk a range of physical and mental problems that younger substance users don’t necessarily face.
from www.shutterstock.com
As Canada moves towards legalization of cannabis in 2018, there is growing evidence of the drug’s potential to treat opioid addiction itself, as well as the chronic pain that often drives it.
Even a tiny amount of fentanyl can be fatal, but the drug is turning up in batches of heroin the UK.
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UK must now respond to arrival of fentanyl, which has for years been a major drug problem in the US and Canada.
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
Robin Feldman, University of California College of the Law, San Francisco
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.
The latest evidence-based treatments for opioid addiction are often under-used, due to inadequate addiction education for doctors and nurses.
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Most physicians are unaware of effective approaches to treat opioid addiction. Addiction medicine fellowships offer a new and effective way to save lives.
Ohio is fighting to hold drug companies accountable for their role in the opioid epidemic.
Bryan Woolston/Reuters
The state of Ohio filed a lawsuit against opioid manufacturers. Will their legal arguments hold up in court – and what will it mean for other cities and states going after big pharma?
The use of more than four medications by one patient is frequent.
(AP Photo/Chris Post)
One in five Canadians suffers chronic pain and almost 2,500 died last year from opioid overdose. A National Pain Strategy promises to tackle both problems.
Feeling tired or being unable to concentrate is common even days after surgery. But there are simple ways to help speed up your recovery.
Jason Jones/Flickr
Some people can feel drowsy or can’t concentrate days after an operation. While it’s easy to blame the anaesthetics, the real picture is usually more complicated.
Most people who take carfentanil think they’re taking something else, usually heroin.
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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.
Jessie Schanzle, The Conversation and Aviva Rutkin, The Conversation
More Americans died from drug overdose in 2014 than any year on record and six in 10 of those involved opioids. How did we get here and what to do about it?
Seized counterfeit hydrocodone tablets.
Drug Enforcement Administration/Handout via Reuters
Media reports have suggested that many young athletes who become injured abuse prescription painkillers and may move to heroin. One of the first studies to look at this suggests otherwise.
Governor Charlie Baker of Massachusetts and unidentified woman at a rally in November aiming to destigmatize addiction.
Joanne DeCaro/flickr
The nation is still in the grip of an opioid addiction epidemic, but there is some good news. Treatment options are expanding, as professionals learn more about the illness.
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?
Though the codeine we take today is made synthetically, small amounts of codeine are actually found in the opium poppy.
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