Category: opioids

Walgreens, Teva Accused of Fueling Opioid Addiction in Quest for New Markets

Walgreens Boots Alliance and Teva Pharmaceutical Industries Ltd. ignored the health risks when they created new markets for opioids, a lawyer for the city of San Francisco told a judge on Monday during opening statements of the first trial to target manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies over the addictive pain medicines. Richard Heimann, a lawyer for…


Up From Rock Bottom: Recovery From a National Overdose Epidemic

Commentary WILLS, Pennsylvania—Andrew Ayers is busy working on loading and unloading several machines at Guy Chemical—a massive, 30,000-square-foot industrial facility that sits tucked along the border of a tiny unincorporated town in Somerset County, Pennsylvania. People call Ayers one of the lucky ones for surviving his addiction to both heroin and methamphetamine, but he says…


Fentanyl Crisis in America a ‘God-Size’ Hole in Need of an Aggressive Solution

GOODYEAR, Ariz.—Mitch and Josephine Dunn of Arizona believe their beautiful daughter, Ashley Marie, didn’t just die of an overdose on May 26, 2021. They say she was murdered.  And the lethal weapon that took her 26-year-old life was fentanyl. “She was poisoned,” said Josephine, the anger in her voice building. “These drug dealers are no…


Native American Tribes Reach $590 Million Opioid Settlement

Native American tribes have reached settlements over the toll of opioids totaling $590 million with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson and the country’s three largest drug distribution companies, according to a court filing made Tuesday. The filing in U.S. District Court in Cleveland lays out the broad terms of the settlements with Johnson & Johnson and…


Purdue Pharma Seeks to Appeal US Ruling That Overturned Its Opioid Settlement

Purdue Pharma is seeking to appeal to the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals a judge’s decision to unravel its restructuring plan that would have insulated its owners from liability in civil opioid-related cases, according to a court filing late on Thursday. The appeal came after U.S. Bankruptcy Judge Robert Drain in White Plains, New…


The Long-Held Hope for an Opioid Vaccine

COVID-19 is the public health emergency that dominates the headlines, but it isn’t the only one. The opioid epidemic was raging for several years before COVID and is still going strong. Despite numerous years spent addressing the problem, this public health crisis is now worse than ever. Opioid deaths have risen steadily over the past…


NYC Fentanyl Deaths Up 55 Percent During Pandemic

New York City residents have increasingly succumbed to overdoses on synthetic opioids such as fentanyl. These deaths have soared by more than 55 percent in the 12 months ending March, compared to the same period the year before. That means 1,778 died of this cause in the city by March 2021, compared with 1,145 by…


Drugmaker Endo Settles With New York State, Counties Over Opioids

NEW YORK—The state of New York and two large counties agreed Thursday to a $50 million deal to end their lawsuits with drugmaker Endo International, in the latest of a progression of settlements of government claims over the opioid addiction and overdose crisis. Under the deal announced Thursday night, the Dublin-based drugmaker and its subsidiary…


Doctors More Likely to Prescribe Opioids to COVID ‘Long Haulers’

COVID survivors are at risk from a separate epidemic of opioid addiction, given the high rate of painkillers being prescribed to them, according to health experts. A new study in Nature found alarmingly high rates of opioid use among COVID survivors with lingering symptoms at Veterans Health Administration facilities. About 10 percent of COVID survivors…


Fatal Fentanyl Overdose Prompts Charges Against Accused Supplier

A Laguna Hills, Calif. man is facing federal charges for allegedly supplying the fentanyl that led to a fatal drug overdose in March. The 26-year-old was arrested May 12 after his fingerprints were found on the victim’s parcel of drugs, the Orange County Sheriff’s Department (OCSD) said May 18. “We will continue to attack the epidemic…