opioid crisis Archives - Northwest Public Broadcasting

Federal funds to battle opioid addiction coming to rural western Washington hospitals

By Lauren Gallup September 15, 2023

Map of Percent Change in Reported 12 Month-ending Count of Drug Overdose Deaths, by Jurisdiction: April 2022 to April 2023, showing Washington with an increase of 31.33%. // Courtesy of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention

For people seeking medication-assisted treatment for substance use disorder in some rural Washington communities, there could soon be more options. Recent grant funding from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services has been allocated to develop medication-assisted treatment (MAT) at rural clinics. Read More

How Washington, Idaho are attempting to reduce increased opioid overdose deaths

By Lauren Gallup March 24, 2023

Rachel Ahrens and Nora Hacker of First United Methodist Church in downtown Tacoma, show off the building's new Narcan vending machine. The medicine inside is free to all and has already saved one person's life, that they know of. Photo by Lauren Gallup.

In downtown Tacoma, Rachel Ahrens said she sees drug use and abuse frequently. “I've personally seen somebody that was just slumped up against the door and looked to be like an overdose,” said Ahrens, who is the building administrator for First United Methodist Church. “I didn't have Narcan at that time, so I wasn't able to administer that. So I had to call 911, for them Read More

How Blue Mountain Heart To Heart Treats Drug Addiction In Eastern Washington

By Dori Luzzo Gilmour July 26, 2022

Everett Maroon Listen (Runtime 3:33) Read Like much of the nation, Benton and Franklin Counties are experiencing a dramatic increase in the number of people dying from overdoses and drug […]Read More

Washington Attorney General Announces $476M Settlement With Opioid Distributors

By Austin Jenkins May 4, 2022

Attorney General Bob Ferguson announces an agreement with three major opioid distributors to settle a lawsuit that had gone to trial, but had not yet concluded. Under the agreement, the state and local governments will share a $476 million settlement to address the ongoing public health fallout from the opioid crisis.

Three large opioid distributors will pay the state of Washington $476 million as part of an agreement to end litigation that began more than three years ago.Read More

A landmark opioid trial puts spotlight on pharmacy chains CVS, Walmart and Walgreens

By NPR News October 4, 2021

CVS Pharmacist Raphael Lynne (left), D., MBA, and Stephanie Garcia, a Pharmacy tech., check the medication disposal box where people can drop off their expired, unused or unwanted medications for safe disposal.

On Monday in a federal courtroom in Cleveland, Ohio, the nation's legal reckoning over the opioid crisis shifts to four name-brand pharmacy chains: CVS, Giant Eagle, Walgreens, and Walmart.Read More

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over OxyContin Sales

By NPR News October 21, 2020

Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., in 2019. Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, and its owners, the Sackler family, have faced hundreds of lawsuits over the company's alleged role in the opioid epidemic that has killed more than 200,000 Americans. CREDIT: Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.Read More

The Kratom Debate: Helpful Herb Or Dangerous Drug?

By NPR News January 13, 2020

Kratom, an herb that's abundant, legal in most states and potentially dangerous, is the subject of an ongoing debate over its risks and benefits.Read More

Pharmaceutical Executives Face Prison Time In Case Linked To Opioid Crisis

By NPR News January 13, 2020

John Kapoor, founder of Arizona-based Insys Therapeutics, is scheduled to be sentenced this month. Boston Globe/Boston Globe via Getty Images

John Kapoor, the former billionaire who founded drugmaker Insys Therapeutics, is among the executives to be sentenced for racketeering.Read More

In 2019, The Legal Fight Over Opioids Unraveled Into Confusion And Infighting

By NPR News December 28, 2019

Millions of Americans sank into addiction after using potent opioid painkillers, such as acetaminophen/oxycodone, that companies churned out and doctors freely prescribed over the past two decades. CREDIT: Eric Baradat /AFP via Getty Images

This was meant to be the year we answered a big question about the deadly opioid epidemic: Will drug companies that make and sell prescription pain medications be held liable? That clarity never came.Read More

Sacklers Withdrew Nearly $11 Billion From Purdue As Opioid Crisis Mounted

By NPR News December 17, 2019

Tufts University stripped the Sackler name from several of its buildings and divisions earlier this month, citing the billionaire family's role in the opioid crisis. The founders of Purdue Pharma have come under intense scrutiny for how their company misled doctors and patients about the addictiveness of its signature medication. Steven Senne/AP

According to a court filing Monday, the family pulled about $10.7 billion from Purdue since 2008 — ramping up withdrawals even after executives pleaded guilty to misleading regulators about OxyContin.Read More

Yakima Medical Student’s Personal Opioid History Will Help Inform How He Prescribes

By NPR News November 26, 2019

Matthew Braun, a first-year medical student at Pacific Northwest University of Health Sciences in Yakima, Wash., says his personal history with opioids will help him care for patients. CREDIT: Jovelle Tamayo for NPR

One medical student was addicted to opioids. Another relied on them to control disabling pain. Both think their experiences will help them be better doctors when it comes to prescribing opioids.Read More

New York AG Says Sacklers Transferred $1B From Purdue Pharma Accounts To Themselves

By NPR News September 14, 2019

Members of P.A.I.N. (Prescription Addiction Intervention Now) and Truth Pharm staged a protest on Thursday outside Purdue Pharma headquarters in Stamford, Conn., over its recent controversial opioid settlement. CREDIT: Erik McGregor/LightRocket via Getty Images

The revelation comes after almost two dozen states reached a tentative settlement with the maker of OxyContin.Read More

Several Drug Companies Considering Large Settlements To Resolve Opioid Suits

By NPR News August 28, 2019

Purdue Pharma and other health care giants are discussing potential deals with authorities that could resolve thousands of lawsuits they're facing over the U.S. opioid epidemic. Drew Angerer/Getty Images

Confronted with a torrent of lawsuits across the U.S., several major drug companies are in discussions with authorities to resolve thousands of opioid-related suits filed against them. A government source close to the negotiations tells NPR that Purdue Pharma, Johnson & Johnson, Endo International and Allergan are looking to cut deals.Read More

Federal Judge Orders Release Of Dataset Showing Drug Industry’s Role In Opioid Crisis

By NPR News July 16, 2019

As addiction has soared, drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies profited off opioids. Newly released data details who made the pills, where they were sold, and which communities were hit hardest. Read More

Leaders From 13 States Urge Federal Court To Allow Supervised Injection Sites

By NPR News July 11, 2019

Supplies sit on a check-in desk at a model of a hypothetical injection site in San Francisco, pictured here in September 2018. Local leaders from San Francisco are among a dozen local officials urging a federal court to allow an effort to open a supervised injection site in Philadelphia. Eric Risberg/AP

A friend-of-the-court brief submitted Wednesday by leaders from five cities — Seattle, Ithaca, New York City, Pittsburgh, and San Francisco — says injection sites, widely used in parts of Canada and Europe, need to be part of the way cities respond to the opioid crisis.Read More

Politicians, Government Agencies Feud Over Payouts Tied To Opioid Epidemic

By NPR News July 1, 2019

A 5ml dose of liquid oxycodone, an opioid pain relief medication, sits on a table in Washington, D.C., March 29, 2019. During the opioid epidemic, roughly 218,000 Americans have died from overdoses tied to prescription pain pills, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. EVA HAMBACH/AFP/Getty Images

Government officials are bickering over hundreds of millions of dollars in settlements paid by Big Pharma, stemming from the nation's deadly opioid epidemic. The pharmaceutical industry paid out more than half a billion dollars over the last year alone. All sides expect the scale of settlements to grow fast as more cases go to trial.Read More

Pharma Company Insys Files For Chapter 11, Days After Opioid Settlement Of $225 Million

By NPR News June 10, 2019

Insys Therapeutics founder John Kapoor departs federal court in Boston, Jan. 30. On Monday the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy, saying it needs to sell its assets to pay back creditors. Kapoor, who was convicted last month of racketeering, owns more than 63% of the company. Steven Senne/AP

The maker of a highly addictive fentanyl-based drug wants to sell its assets to pay some $250 million in debts. The move could let the company out of part of the settlement deal reached last week.Read More

Opioid Maker Insys Admits To Bribing Doctors, Agrees To Pay $225 Million Settlement

By Scott Leadingham June 5, 2019

Insys, the maker of fentanyl-based Subsys, agreed to a $225 million settlement with the federal government to resolve criminal and civil investigations of the company's role in the opioid crisis. Reuters

The company agreed to make the payments to resolve federal criminal and civil investigations of its marketing practices. Five of its executives were convicted separately for the same practices.Read More

Opioid Manufacturers Sued By Washington State Get To Keep Their Big Tax Break

By Austin Jenkins May 13, 2019

File photo. Distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs in Washington kept their better-than-Boeing tax break this year, despite a lawsuit against the industry's three largest players. CREDIT: Kevin Mooney/N3

At the same time Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing three Fortune 15 pharmaceutical distributors for allegedly “fueling the state’s opioid epidemic,” majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature this year left intact a generous tax break for distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs while raising taxes on other business sectors.Read More

Dozens Of Doctors And Other Medical Workers Charged In Federal Opioid Sting

By NPR News April 17, 2019

Assistant Attorney General Brian Benczkowski said Wednesday that if doctors or pharmacists behave like drug dealers, the Justice Department would prosecute them accordingly. Jose Luis Magana/AP

The Department of Justice said defendants allegedly pushed more than 32 million unneeded pills, contributing to a drug crisis and potentially defrauding the health care system.Read More

New Idaho Law to Make Overdose Reversal Drug More Available

By NWPB News February 14, 2019

Idaho Gov. Brad Little signs into law legislation to make the overdose reversal drug naloxone more readily available. CREDIT: Keith Riddler/AP News

Idaho Governor Brad Little signed legislation into law Thursday aimed at reducing the number of opioid deaths in the state by making naloxone overdose reversal medication more available.Read More

Report: Americans More Likely To Die Of Opioid Overdose Than In Vehicle Accidents

By NPR News January 14, 2019

Americans now have a 1 in 96 chance of dying from an opioid overdose, according to new analysis from the National Safety Council. Spencer Platt/Getty Images

For the first time in U.S. history, a leading cause of deaths — vehicle crashes — has been surpassed in likelihood by opioid overdoses, according to a new report on preventable deaths from the National Safety Council.Read More

U.S. Life Expectancy Drops Amid ‘Disturbing’ Rise In Overdoses And Suicides

By NPR News November 29, 2018

Syringes of fentanyl, an opioid painkiller, sit in an inpatient facility in Salt Lake City. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, opioid-related overdoses have contributed to the life expectancy drop in the U.S. CREDIT: RICK BOWMER/AP

For the second time in three years, life expectancy in the U.S. has ticked downward. In three reports issued Thursday, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention laid out a series of statistics that revealed some troubling trend lines — including rapidly increasing rates of death from drug overdoses and suicide.Read More

Washington’s Snohomish County Is Treating Opioid Addiction Like A Natural Disaster

By Anna Boiko-Weyrauch October 28, 2018

Social worker, Lauren Rainbow (right), meets a man illegally camped in the woods in Snohomish County. They are part of a new program in the county that helps people with addiction, instead of arresting them. CREDIT: Leah Nash for Finding Fixes Podcast

Washington's Snohomish County declared the opioid epidemic a life-threatening emergency. They use a multi-agency coordination group straight out of FEMA's playbook to respond to the crisis.Read More

Top Washington Prosecutors Call For New Strategy To Address Drug Addiction

By Austin Jenkins May 10, 2018

Snohomish County Prosecuting Attorney Mark Roe, left, and King County Prosecutor Dan Satterberg say Washington state is failing to adequately address an epidemic of drug addiction. CREDIT: TVW

Two of Washington top elected prosecutors say the state is failing to adequately address an epidemic of drug addiction. They say it’s a major contributor to crime, but also to homelessness.Read More

Questions Raised About Study Of Device To Ease Opioid Withdrawal

By NPR News May 2, 2018

As the nation grapples with a crisis of opioid addiction, a medical device called the Bridge is being touted as a way to help people through the symptoms of withdrawal. Does it work?Read More

Opioid Use Lower In States That Eased Marijuana Laws

By NPR News April 2, 2018

Medical marijuana is dispensed in Takoma Park, D.C. in 2014. CREDIT: EVELYN HOCKSTEIN/WASHINGTON POST

Medical marijuana appears to have put a dent in the opioid abuse epidemic, according to two new studies.Read More

Trump Says Administration Working On ‘Very Very Strong’ Policies To Combat Opioids

By NPR News March 1, 2018

The president made an unexpected appearance at Thursday's White House opioid summit. "It's a problem that's growing," he said of the drug epidemic that has struck the country.Read More

Amid Opioid Crisis, Washington State Looks To Treatment Alternatives

By Enrique Pérez de la Rosa February 28, 2018

The opioid crisis has spurred a movement in medicine to find alternatives, including non-pharmacological options like dry needling. CREDIT: DR. HEATER TICK

The opioid epidemic has torn through the United States in recent years. Washington has not been spared. In 2016, more than 42,000 people died from opioid overdoses, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Almost 700 of those deaths were in Washington, according to the state Department of Health.Read More

Drugmakers Spent Millions Promoting Opioids To Patient Groups, Senate Report Says

By NPR News February 13, 2018

The report released by Missouri Democratic Sen. Claire McCaskill says the cozy relationship between pain advocacy groups and pharmaceutical companies may have played a key role in the opioid crisis.Read More

Washington Lawmakers Tackle Opioid Epidemic, But Much Work Remains

By Deborah Wang January 16, 2018

The opioid crisis is front and center at the Washington Legislature this week. On Monday, lawmakers heard testimony on three bills aimed at preventing and treating opioid addiction and reducing overdose deaths.Read More

Jay Inslee Wants Washington To Declare Opioid ‘Public Health Crisis’

By Austin Jenkins January 13, 2018

Washington Gov. Jay Inslee wants state lawmakers to declare the opioid epidemic a public health crisis. On average, two people die each day in Washington from opioid overdoses. That includes deaths from prescription and synthetic opioids, as well as heroin.Read More

After Drug Treatment, Men In Recovery Work To Live A ‘Normal Life’

By NWPB News December 27, 2017

For NPR's "Kitchen Table" series exploring issues from the 2016 presidential campaign, we revisit Huntington, W. Va., and follow up with three men in recovery from opioid addiction.Read More