overdose
Opioid Overdoses
A former anesthesiologist was properly convicted of manslaughter for prescribing opioids to two patients who overdosed on the drugs, a New York appeals court ruled. Other patients and their families testified that his pain management clinic was essentially a “pill mill” where he excessively prescribed addictive drugs and ignored patients’ abuse of the meds.
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Meth, not Fentanyl, Is Top Killer in Western US
Fentanyl is driving drug overdose deaths in the U.S. overall, but in the Western half of the country, it’s a different story. Meth is the bigger killer, a new government report shows.
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Data Show Flood of Opioids Across US, Many of Them Generics
The maker of OxyContin has been cast as the chief villain in the nation’s opioid crisis. But newly released government figures suggest Purdue Pharma had plenty of help in flooding the U.S. with billions of pills even as overdose deaths were accelerating.
Read moreOhio Hospital Fires 23 Workers After 29 Opioid Deaths
The Ohio hospital system where excessive painkiller doses were given to dozens of patients who died fired 23 nurses, pharmacists and managers Thursday and said it is changing leadership, a sign that professional fallout from the opioid scandal has expanded far beyond the intensive care doctor accused of ordering the drugs.
Read moreFormer College Football Player Charged in Opioid Death
A former Rice University football player stood before a magistrate in Houston federal court Friday to face charges he sold opioids to a teammate who died in his sleep after taking the pills.
Read moreOpioid Task Force Touts Legal Aid as Way Out of Crisis
Between 1999 and 2017, nearly 400,000 people in the United States died from overdoses involving opioids and by 2017, over 2 million people had been diagnosed with an opioid use disorder. Legal aid may be the key to facilitating recovery for them.
Read moreDrug Dealers Fight Liability for Out-of-State Overdose
Lawyers for a pair of accused drug dealers urged the New Jersey Supreme Court to bar their prosecution for a New Yorker’s overdose, saying state law does not cover conduct across the river.
Read moreNew Medical Study Finds Racial Disparities in Opioid Crisis
While drug epidemics in the United States tend to affect non-whites, the opioid crisis in America has targeted largely low-income white populations, according to a new study released Monday by the American Medical Association.
Read moreReport: Big Pharma Money to Doctors Led to Spike in Opioid Deaths
(CN) – As the U.S. opioid epidemic peaked in 2015, so did the amount of money spent to market prescription
Read morePrince’s Family Sues Doctor Who Prescribed Opioids
A wrongful death lawsuit was filed in Minnesota state court Friday against a doctor by the family of the late pop star Prince, who said he died two years ago of an overdose of the potent drug fentanyl because the doctor did not treat him for his opiate addiction.
Read moreSafe Injections
A bill to allow San Francisco to pilot a 3-year program to create safe injection sites to prevent overdoses from controlled substances has passed both chambers of the Legislature, and awaits Gov. Jerry Brown’s signature.
Read morePolice Work to Stop Overdoses After 76 Fall Ill
Police swarmed a Connecticut park near Yale University and searched people’s homes for drugs Thursday in an effort to prevent more overdoses from a batch of synthetic marijuana blamed for sending more than 70 people to the hospital.
Read moreUS Still Consumes Huge Amount of Opioids, Despite Efforts
Prescription opioid use has not declined over the last decade despite increased efforts to educate patients and doctors in order to prevent abuse, according to a study published Wednesday.
Read moreCalifornia Widens Access to Opioid Overdose Antidote
California’s top public health official has issued a standing order to make the life-saving, anti-overdose drug naloxone available at pharmacies statewide without a prescription.
Read moreDrug Overdose Deaths Up 12 Percent Nationally
The number of people who died in the United States as result of overdosing on drugs – including illicit and prescription drugs – rose by 12 percent, though researchers say the number is likely higher, according to a new report released Wednesday.
Read moreProsecutor Won’t Bring Charges for Prince’s Death
A Minnesota prosecutor said Thursday that he will not bring criminal charges in the overdose death of Prince, but a doctor accused of illegally prescribing the pop star an opioid has agreed to a $30,000 civil settlement.
Read moreWest Virginia Records 872 Overdoses Last Year
West Virginia’s death toll from drug overdoses has improved slightly, with 872 deaths last year.
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Opioid Addiction Is Reducing US Life Expectancy
Deaths from opioid overdoses tripled in the 15 years from 2000 to 2015, according to a study published Tuesday by the Centers for Disease Control.
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