opioid

Trump administration extends opioid emergency as fentanyl deaths drop

3:57pm March 19, 2025

U.S. Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. says the Trump administration will continue to treat opioid overdoses as a "national security" emergency even as fentanyl deaths decline.

Guillermo A. Santos on his high school graduation day in 2021, with his father, Guillermo Jose Santos. The elder Santos died later the same year of a drug overdose.

In Philadelphia's Kensington neighborhood, heroin is far from 'chic'

5:00am February 20, 2024

by Guillermo A. Santos

A young poet and writer who lost his father to opioid addiction says there's nothing cool about what the drugs did to his dad. So why are peers trying to look like emaciated people with addiction?

The Justice Department announced charges against 78 people related to health care fraud schemes.

78 people face charges for $2.5 billion in attempted health care fraud, DOJ says

2:21pm June 28, 2023

by Jaclyn Diaz

At least $1.1 billion was actually paid out in these schemes targeting elderly patients, high-risk and low-income pregnant women and HIV patients.

States filed lawsuits against corporations involved in the opioid crisis. Now, about $50 billion in settlement funds have begun to flow to state governments. Advocates want to make sure it is used to treat addiction.

Health & Safety

Biden promised a watchdog for opioid settlement billions, but feds are quiet so far

3:16pm April 20, 2023

by Aneri Pattani

Billions of dollars are headed to state and local governments to address the opioid crisis. If the federal government fails to oversee how the money is spent, advocates worry it will be wasted.

Registered nurse Jamie Simmons speaks with a patient during an appointment at the Greater New Bedford Community Health Center in Massachusetts. The patient, whose first name is Kim, says buprenorphine has helped her stay off heroin and avoid an overdose for nearly 20 years.

Health & Safety

A roadblock to life-saving addiction treatment is gone. Now what?

4:37pm March 09, 2023

by Martha Bebinger

Federal restrictions seemed to explain why many doctors weren't prescribing medication for opioid addiction. But some caution that removing those rules isn't enough to overcome hesitancy and stigma.

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In 2021, the three leading causes of death were heart disease, cancer and COVID-19.

Health & Safety

American life expectancy is now at its lowest in nearly two decades

6:00am December 22, 2022

by Yuki Noguchi

A new report shows the pandemic and the overdose crisis helped push down the average life expectancy in the U.S. for a second year in a row.

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Beth Macy's "Raising Lazarus" highlights those on the front lines of harm reduction

12:38pm November 17, 2022

by Bethany Chafin

Author Beth Macy’s latest book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis,” documents those who are on the ground working in harm reduction across the United States. Woven throughout these profiles, Macy also dives into the intricacies of the litigation aimed at holding Purdue Pharma and the Sackler family accountable.

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Fentanyl took root in Montana and in communities across the Mountain West region during the pandemic, and overall drug overdose deaths are disproportionately affecting Native Americans.

Tribal leaders sound the alarm after fentanyl overdoses spike at Blackfeet Nation

5:08am June 01, 2022

by Aaron Bolton

After 17 overdoses — including four deaths — this spring, Indigenous leaders in Montana and surrounding states look for ways to stop the fentanyl crisis and provide more treatment and care.

4 U.S. companies will pay $26 billion to settle claims they fueled the opioid crisis

1:09pm February 25, 2022

by Brian Mann

The companies, including Johnson & Johnson and McKesson, will admit no wrongdoing. Billions of dollars in payouts will fund drug treatment and harm reduction programs.

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Sackler family is willing to pay more in Purdue opioids settlement, mediator says

7:37pm February 18, 2022

by The Associated Press

Under the latest proposal, the Sacklers would contribute between $5.5 billion and $6 billion, an increase from the $4.3 billion they had agreed to earlier.