The Latest Breaking News from Opioids

West Virginia’s Supreme Court has declined to answer a question in a landmark lawsuit over whether the distribution of opioids can cause a public nuisance

The opioid crisis, increasingly driven by synthetic opioids, continues to claim tens of thousands of lives annually in the US alone. Similar crises have arisen all over the western world.

The survey estimates that 7.5 percent of America adults use illegally produced fentanyl each year, 25 times the rate indicated by a government-sponsored survey.

An alarming surge in opioid abuse among Ghana’s youth is raising red flags for health authorities, as addiction to these powerful painkillers spirals into a growing public health crisis.

Drug researchers are working to detect new forms of very powerful synthetic opioids being used to lace street drugs that kill unwitting users.

Walgreens has agreed to pay up to $350 million in a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice, who accused the pharmacy of illegally filling millions of prescriptions in the last decade for opioids and other controlled substances

The animal tranquilizers xylazine and medetomidine are in approximately one-third of the illegal opioids available in the U.S., including fentanyl, heroin and oxycodone. Animal tranquilizers enhance the user’s euphoric high from opioids, particularly in those who have developed a tolerance to the opioid. But adding the tranquilizers to these already…

Little data is collected on pregnant women who are incarcerated. Even less is available for those with addiction

Pharma firms are developing drugs that avoid the brain’s opioid receptors to minimise the risks of dependence and overdoses, but not all experts are convinced

The female sex hormone estrogen, along with progesterone, appears to underlie a fundamental difference in how males and females process pain, a mouse study finds.

Philadelphia’s street opioid supply – or “dope” market – is constantly changing. As health care workers and researchers who care for people who use drugs in our community, we have witnessed these shifts firsthand.