The explosion in opioid prescriptions has been decades in the making. Over the past decade, the US has undergone an opioid epidemic. Prescriptions for opioid painkillers like oxycodone, hydrocodone, fentanyl, and morphine have skyrocketed and, with them, the number of overdoses related to opioids. In 2014,…
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This one-paragraph letter may have launched the opioid epidemic
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The stunning spread of the opioid painkiller and heroin epidemic, in one map
The opioid painkiller and heroin epidemic led to a new record in drug overdose deaths in 2014 — more than 47,000 overdose deaths that year alone, and nearly two-thirds of them were linked to opioids and heroin. But what does that death toll really look…
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Obituary encourages discussion about addiction
JACKSON TWP. Scott Robinson had a distinctive laugh. It accompanied a wide grin and sometimes woke his mother at their Jackson Township home. “He just would laugh so loud, it made you happy,” Janet Robinson said. The “Scotty laugh,” as his family called it, was…
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Another Voice: Congress leaves opioid crisis on the doorstep of local governments
Devolution is when the federal government relinquishes responsibility, intentionally or unintentionally, for something it was previously responsible for to local governments. An example of this can be seen in the way the heroin and opioid epidemic is being addressed in Erie County. Gridlock in Congress…
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Lawyer’s practice focuses on accidential Rx opiate overdose deaths
BEACHWOOD, OHIO – Beachwood attorney, George Loucas of Loucas Law, says 80 percent of his practice is dedicated to prescription drug overdose cases and he’s never lost one of the dozens he’s taken to court. Loucas said he understands the nuances of the opiate epidemic…
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CDC: Prescription Drugs Kill More Than Illegal Drugs; Teens at High Risk
Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show that more people die from legally prescribed drugs than from heroin and cocaine combined. The CDC has classified the situation as an “epidemic.” What’s worse is that a study by the Journal of Public Policy…
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Obama Confronts Opiate Abuse Epidemic as Death Toll Mounts
State Medicaid programs for the poor would have to cover treatment for drug abuse under a rule the Obama administration will issue today, as the U.S. government grapples with an epidemic of painkiller and heroin abuse that kills tens of thousands of Americans a year….
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Are Prescription Painkillers as Addictive as Heroin?
The Link Between Painkillers and Heroin According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA), in 2011, 4.2 million Americans aged 12 or over had used heroin at least once in their lives. Of these users, an estimated 23% will go on to become heroin…
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Physicians told changes in prescribing can avert opioid addiction
By: Lauren Loricchio – Contact Reporter Physicians from across Maryland were told in a presentation in Hanover Saturday that adjusting their prescribing practices could help the state cope with its opioid addiction crisis. Dr. Yngvild Olsen, an internist trained in addiction services, told doctors at the…
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Doctors told to avoid prescribing opiates for chronic pain
Liz Szabo, USA TODAY2:35 p.m. EDT March 16, 2016 The nation’s top federal health agency urged doctors to avoid prescribing powerful opiate painkillers for patients with chronic pain, saying the risks from such drugs far outweigh the benefits for most people. The Centers for Disease…