The CARES team offers mobile medical and mental health support to residents of Walla Walla. When their work involves opioids, they can bill their time to the opioid settlement fund. […]Read More
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
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
New data from the CDC show more than 19,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during the first three months of 2020 with the country on pace to set a grim new record.Read More
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
John Kapoor, the former billionaire who founded drugmaker Insys Therapeutics, is among the executives to be sentenced for racketeering.Read More
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
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
The revelation comes after almost two dozen states reached a tentative settlement with the maker of OxyContin.Read More
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
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
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
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
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
According to a new NPR/Ipsos opioid poll, 71% of Americans surveyed also say the government should do more to curb the epidemic.Read More
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
The Massachusetts attorney general alleges that the family behind Purdue Pharma knew that OxyContin was causing overdoses, yet continued to cash in. New documents in the case were released Thursday.Read More
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
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
More than 70 people fell ill in or around a historic park in New Haven, near the Yale University campus. Police believe the synthetic cannabinoid K2 laced with fentanyl caused the rash of overdoses.Read More
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
