Can we curb the opioid abuse epidemic by rethinking chronic pain?
A sea change in pain treatment helped create the opioid abuse epidemic, and another sea change in how doctors view chronic pain could help curb it.
Academic rigor, journalistic flair
Articles on Opioids
Displaying 21 - 34 of 34 articles
From the clinic to the street: How the explosion in prescription painkillers has created more heroin users
Why have the demographics of heroin use changed so much? For that, we can look to dramatic increase in prescriptions for opioid painkillers, such as Oxycontin or Vicodin.
Explainer: what is naloxone and how can it help save drug users who overdose?
Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, is a medicine that temporarily reverses the effects of opioid drugs such as heroin, morphine and oxycodone.
The stigma against people who use heroin makes it harder for them to get help
Stigma toward heroin use might prevent a lot of people from using the drug, but these attitudes don't help people who are dependent.
Why are politicians still referring to marijuana as a gateway drug?
The myth has been debunked time and time again.
Safe injection facilities: more than just a place to shoot drugs
Not only can they improve public health and decrease treatment costs, but they can also address one of the root causes of addiction: loneliness.
Easier access to prescription drugs puts teens at risk
When you think about substance use and teens, drugs like marijuana or Ecstasy might come to mind. But recreational prescription drug use is a significant problem. Nationally, 17.8% of high school students…
Blocking rewards: how the immune system could help treat cocaine addiction
Cocaine is a popular recreational drug that makes users energetic, confident and talkative. It’s also highly addictive and dependence-producing. Australians rank fourth in the world in cocaine abuse rates…
Can medical marijuana curb the heroin epidemic?
In the 1930s, Harry J. Anslinger, the first head of the Federal Bureau of Narcotics, embarked on a fierce anti-marijuana campaign. Highlighted by the 1936 anti-marijuana film Reefer Madness – where marijuana…
Do stricter controls curb opioid abuse?
Americans consume a staggering amount of the opioid painkiller hydrocodone - about 99% of the world’s supply. In October, after 10 years of debate the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) reclassified medications…
Explainer: naloxone, the antidote to opioid overdose
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…
Three things you need to know about drug overdoses
In 2012, 103,000 people around the world lost their lives to drug poisoning or overdose. As terrible as this waste of life seems, it’s important to remember that drug overdoses are not inevitably fatal…
Should naloxone be used to reduce opioid overdoses?
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…
Some ways to balance the benefits and harms of opioids
The use of opioid medication in Australia has grown considerably in the past 20 years, and so have related harms. This increase in use is primarily for chronic pain conditions, now the most common reason…
Top contributors
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Associate Professor of Sociology, Bentley University
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Emeritus Consultant, St Vincent's Hospital, Darlinghurst
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Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
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Emeritus Professor, University of Melbourne
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Professor and Director, National Drug Research Institute, Curtin University
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Honorary professorial fellow, Department of Pharmacology, University of Melbourne
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Professor of Criminology, Western Sydney University
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Research Fellow, Palliative Medicine Physician, Monash University
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Professor, University of Adelaide
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Associate Professor of Law and Public Health, The Ohio State University
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Executive Director, South Australian Health & Medical Research Institute
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Professor of Emergency Medicine and Community Health Sciences, Boston University
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Associate professor and Co-Director, Center for Drug Safety and Effectiveness, Johns Hopkins Medicine
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Research data analyst, Johns Hopkins University
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Johns Hopkins University
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