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Articles on Opioid epidemic

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Opioids can help reduce the amount of medication needed to achieve anesthesia. gpointstudio/iStock via Getty Images Plus

Why opting out of opioids can be dangerous in the operating room

Non-opioid directives allow patients to refuse opioids in all health care settings. For surgical procedures that require anesthesia, however, this may do more harm than good.
Naloxone can prevent deaths from opioid overdose, but there is no way to reverse the effects of benzodiazepine overdose without risk. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward)

Benzo-dope’ may be replacing fentanyl: Dangerous substance turning up in unregulated opioids

Fentanyl adulteration led to the replacement of heroin in the unregulated drug supply of British Columbia. Now that benzodiazepines are present in many opioids, are we headed towards a ‘new normal?’
One potential way to make opioids less addictive is to make them target injured tissue rather than the healthy brain. PM Images/Photodisk via Getty Images

Designing less addictive opioids, through chemistry

While the COVID-19 pandemic raged on, the opioid epidemic got worse as drug overdose deaths soared. New research proposes a way to chemically modify opioids to reduce the risk of addiction.
Every state bears the burden of the opioid crisis. Digital Deliverance/Shutterstock.com

Opioid epidemic may have cost states at least $130 billion in treatment and related expenses – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg

State governments are leading the charge against opioid makers over their role in the epidemic. A team of researchers at Penn State examined just how much the crisis has cost them.
Classified advertisement for Leslie Keeley’s Gold Cure. ProQuest Historical Newspapers: Chicago Tribune, July 21, 1884

Purdue Pharma taps a Gilded Age history of pharmaceutical fraud

Considered in historical context, Purdue’s plan to peddle opioid addiction medicines to vulnerable people is not so surprising. Gilded-Age pharmaceutical companies used similar strategies.
The Chronic Pain Association of Canada has received money from Eli Lilly Canada Inc., Purdue Canada Inc. and Merck Frosst Canada. A blog post on the association’s website contains messages favourable to increased opioid use. (Flickr/Ajay Suresh)

Why Big Pharma must disclose payments to patient groups

Evidence shows that opioid manufacturers fund patient advocacy groups in Canada, distorting policies to protect public health.

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