“Suspected cases of drug overdoses soared between March and May, according to data from medical teams, hospitals, and the police. According to a Washington Post report, the isolation and economic upheaval caused by the pandemic are fueling this hidden epidemic. Heather Long who co-wrote that story joins Hari Sreenivasan to discuss.” Find more from PBS…
“The manufacturers and distributors of opioid prescription painkillers have supplied billions of pills throughout the U.S. An investigative series by The Washington Post looks at the opioid epidemic through the DEA’s newly public database that tracks every pain pill sold to pharmacies across the country. Steven Rich, The Post’s data editor, joins Hari Sreenivasan with…
“Stacy Bohlen of the National Indian Health Board breaks down how block grants for states to combat the opioid epidemic neglect Native communities. “The states are under no obligation to share any of that funding with tribes,” she says. “The number one disease that our people suffer from is anonymity or invisibility.” Democracy Now! is…
Opioid addiction and abuse know no boundaries. It touches the lives of all racial and ethnic groups, ages, gender, and every geographical corner of America. The following are statistics from the Center for Disease Control and an insightful story from National Public Radio last spring. These introductory stories set the stage for a recollection of…
“Amid several lawsuits that accuse manufacturing giant Purdue Pharma of contributing to the country’s opioid epidemic, the company announced Saturday it will cut sales staff by more than half and stop marketing opioids to doctors. Reporter Lev Facher, who wrote for STAT that it marked the end of an aggressive, opioid marketing era that Purdue…
“In declaring a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic, President Trump called for the creation of a national media campaign to reduce drug use among young people. As part of our “America Addicted” series, William Brangham speaks with Gary Mendell of Shatterproof and Jonathan Goyer of the Anchor Recovery about what should be done…
“President Trump announced Thursday that he is directing the Department of Health and Human Services to declare the opioid crisis a public health emergency—walking back his plans, announced in August, to declare it a more serious “national emergency.” The shift means the federal government will not, as of now, direct any new federal funds to…