Unlike opioid drugs like morphine and fentanyl that travel throughout the body, the opioids your body produces are released in small quantities to specific locations.
The Food and Drug Administration’s approval of Narcan will make the lifesaving drug more widely available, especially to those who might be likely to witness or respond to opioid overdoses.
Xylazine, or tranq, is increasingly being mixed with drugs like fentanyl or heroin and can be difficult to detect. Most people who use drugs are unable to tell if they have been exposed to it.
Pennsylvania has long had one of the highest death rates from drug overdose in the US. But new studies suggest counties throughout the state have different rates of opioid deaths.
Drugs can interact with one another in ways that are harmful. A study finds that taking oxycodone with certain SSRIs can make an opioid overdose more likely.
Fentanyl’s wide availability in the drug supply has led to an increase in unintentional overdoses. While prevention strategies are available, limited availability stymies their use.
Sung Han, University of California, San Diego and Shijia Liu, University of California, San Diego
Opioids can cause death by slowing breathing to dangerously low levels, or stopping it altogether. Examining one area of the brain may eventually lead to safer painkillers.
The U.S. suicide rate has been increasing for decades. According to a sociologist who studies suicide, depression is just one factor among many implicated social conditions.
The overdose crisis — coupled with a lack of accessible harm reduction services — represents a growing concern for young queer and trans men who use drugs.
Opioid overdoses killed 47,000 Americans in 2017 — more than gun violence. Many fewer would have died if they’d been treated with the life-saving drug naloxone, also called Narcan.
Cannabis legalization in Canada is a public health strategy. Let’s harness this opportunity to understand how cannabis could fit into a multi-faceted opioid prevention and response strategy.
A scholar explains why there is no one answer. Some pain is devastating, and sometimes such pain responds well to opioids. On the other hand, there is evidence that some physicians overprescribe.
High fructose corn syrup in food and drinks has long been linked to rising rates of child and teen obesity. New evidence suggests it increases the risks of opioid addiction and overdose too.
Assistant Professor Department of Health Services Policy and Management; Adjunct Professor Department of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences; Principal Investigator William Jennings Bryan Dorn Veterans Affairs Medical Center, University of South Carolina