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.
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Articles on Opioids
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Poppy seeds can become contaminated with opiates during harvesting. For the US Defense Department, invoking a ‘poppy seed defense’ may not be enough to rule out a positive drug test result.
As British Columbia begins a new era in drug policy, the drug poisoning crisis continues without an end in sight.
Supervised consumption sites provide essential community connections and services for those who use them. By closing them, governments are risking the welfare of people who use drugs.
The best treatment for heroin dependence is opioid agonist treatment, where a similar but longer-acting opioid is provided in a regular dose, often with counselling or other support.
Matthew Perry recently revealed that his colon burst as a result of long-term opioid abuse.
Studies suggest that marijuana and CBD use might help relieve chronic pain while also reducing a patient’s need for opioids.
Like clockwork, September crime news is often cast as an ominous sign of what could happen on Halloween.
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.
The Purdue Pharma settlement is paltry compared to costs of the opioid crisis. Without major changes to pharma industry regulation, there is little reason to think a similar crisis won’t occur again.
Different painkillers provide relief in different ways. The most effective medication is the one that best targets the type of pain you’re experiencing with minimal side effects.
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.
Measures to curb growing rates of opioid use are also making it difficult for people with long-term, chronic pain to get ongoing prescriptions.
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.
New national standards aim to change doctors’ prescribing habits for hospital patients with pain when they’re discharged home. But clinicians also need to ensure patients’ pain is well managed.
After battling drug manufacturers and distributors in court for years, local and state governments are about to receive a windfall that could expand access to treatments that can save lives.
People are dying from using a toxic drug supply. Safer supply and other approaches that listen to the needs of people who use drugs are critical to saving lives and addressing the opioid crisis.
We researched how much difference opioids like codeine, oxycodone or morphine make to osteoarthritis pain. We found they helped about as much as paracetamol. Yet they are far more dangerous.
Drug manufacturers often shun the use of placebos in clinical trials. But research suggests that placebos could play an important role in the treatment of depression, pain and other maladies.
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.
Top contributors
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Professor and Deputy Director, Monash Addiction Research Centre, Monash University
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Professor Emeritus of Health Policy and Management, York University, Canada
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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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Professor at the National Drug Research Institute (Melbourne), Curtin University
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Chancellor's Professor of Medicine, Liberal Arts, and Philanthropy, Indiana University
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Honorary Fellow, Department of Health Sciences, University of York
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PhD Candidate, National Drug and Alcohol Research Centre, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor of Population Health, New York University
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Associate Professor of Public Health and Community Medicine; Weiner Hailey Family Professor, Tufts University
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Head of Alcohol and other Drug Research, Centre for Population Health; Burnet Principal for Alcohol, other drugs and harm reduction, Burnet Institute
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Senior Lecturer in Criminology, UNSW Sydney
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Associate Professor, Mental Health and Addiction, Rural Health Research Institute, Charles Sturt University
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Professor of Geography, Penn State
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Professor, University of Sydney
