addiction

Sarah McCammon / NPR

4:25pm Feb 08, 2017

National National Politics & Government Health & Safety

In West Virginia, Men In Recovery Look To Trump For A 'Helping Hand'

by Sarah McCammon

Residents of a drug treatment center in Huntington, W.Va., hope President Trump follows through on promises to fight the addiction crisis. Many are worried about how they'll pay for their health care.
11:04am Dec 28, 2016

Health & Safety Health & Safety

Heroin Death Rate Spike In North Carolina Among The Highest Nationwide

New data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show North Carolina has been hit hard by the opioid epidemic.
Seth Herald for NPR

4:59pm Dec 27, 2016

National National Health & Safety

A Peer Recovery Coach Walks The Front Lines Of America's Opioid Epidemic

Charlie Oen was addicted to heroin as a teenager. At 25, he's now clean and a peer counselor in Lima, Ohio, where he tries to help people who started using drugs before he was born.
Endai Huedl / fStop/Getty Images

3:51pm Dec 15, 2016

Books Books Arts Health & Safety

'Drug Dealer, M.D.': Misunderstandings And Good Intentions Fueled Opioid Epidemic

Psychiatrist Anna Lembke says the medical establishment and drugmakers began telling doctors in the 1980s that opioids were effective treatment for chronic pain. "That was patently false," she says.

Listen
Henry Diltz / Getty Images

2:39pm Dec 12, 2016

Health & Safety Health & Safety

Eat, Don't Drink And Still Be Merry: Staying Sober Through The Holidays

by Sarah Hepola

Before she stopped drinking, Sarah Hepola relied on alcohol to get her through the holiday season. "What nobody mentions about all the holiday spirit is how much booze it requires," she says.
Toby Talbot / AP

2:03pm Nov 17, 2016

National National Health & Safety

Surgeon General Murthy Wants America To Face Up To Addiction

by NPR Staff

More people struggle with alcohol or drugs than have cancer, and 1 in 5 Americans binge drink. It all costs the nation $420 billion a year. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy says we know how to help.

Listen
Ben Allen/WITF

8:28am Oct 01, 2016

National National Health & Safety

How We Got Here: Treating Addiction In 28 Days

by Ben Allen

Decades ago, a researcher came up with 28 days as the ideal length of stay for inpatient alcoholism rehab, despite lack of evidence that it worked. That model is now being used for opioid addiction.
Hero Images / Getty Images

4:23pm Sep 26, 2016

National National Health & Safety

Medications Can Help People Stop Abusing Alcohol, But Many Don't Know That

by Emma Yasinski

It is still rare for a person struggling with alcohol abuse to be prescribed naltrexone or acamprosate, two medications that have been proven to help. Efforts are underway to change that.
The Washington Post/Getty Images

11:59am Sep 20, 2016

National National Health & Safety

Doctors Who Treat Opioid Addiction Often See Very Few Patients

by Nancy Shute

It can be very hard to find medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction, but most doctors who provide it do so for just a small number of patients, a study finds.
1:00pm Sep 16, 2016

Science Science

The Ups And Downs Of Dopamine

The human body, engineered over billions of years by evolutionary experiments in adaptation, owes its survival as a species to the experiences of pleasure, which is enacted by brain chemistry. Yet this is also the source of addictive behavior. A local scientist is working to change that.

Listen
Stina Sieg/KJZZ

4:29pm Sep 05, 2016

National National Health & Safety

Marijuana's Mainstream Move Triggers Different Kinds Of Family Talks

This fall, five states may legalize marijuana for recreational use. The change means parents and kids talk about marijuana in a whole new light.
Nicole Xu for NPR

11:53am Aug 22, 2016

National National Health & Safety

A Small Town Struggles With A Boom In Sober Living Homes

by Will Stone

Prescott, Ariz., has become a destination of choice for people trying to get sober, with growing numbers of group homes for recovering addicts. Some residents are calling for regulation of the homes.

Listen