Recent News & Media


  • Prescription Overdose Epidemic Infographic

    Posted on: March 12th, 2016

  • Prescription painkiller abuse continues to pose problems in county

    Posted on: March 12th, 2016

    by Naomi Creason The Sentinel In the mid ‘90s, a new drug sat on the horizon being billed with the ability to combat pain safely. Jack Carroll, executive director of the Cumberland-Perry Drug and Alcohol Commission, remembers what some of the promises were for that new…


  • Senate poised to pass bill to combat heroin use and prescription drug abuse

    Posted on: March 9th, 2016

    Erin Kelly, USA TODAY WASHINGTON — The Senate is poised to pass a bipartisan bill this week that would provide federal grants to states and local governments to combat the national epidemic of heroin addiction and prescription painkiller abuse. Senators voted 86-3 on Monday to advance the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery…


  • The explosion in overdoses from legal drugs is changing how doctors treat pain — but it may not be enough

    Posted on: February 29th, 2016

    By Harrison Jacobs In the US, the number of deaths from drug overdoses exceeded the number of deaths from car crashes or guns in 2014, the most recent year for which data is available. Legal prescription opioids like Oxycontin and Percocet, as well as illegal opioids like…


  • America’s opioid epidemic is everywhere — but it’s especially bad in these 5 states

    Posted on: February 25th, 2016

    Published: Feb 24, 2016 2:29 p.m. ET By EMMA COURT – REPORTER When it comes to the prescription-painkiller problem in America, statistics speak louder than words: The U.S. consumes more opioids—from certain prescription pain relievers to heroin—than any other country. While no state is exempt from the addiction and…


  • Doctors’ prescriptions fuel N.C. drug overdose epidemic

    Posted on: February 22nd, 2016

    Posted: Feb 21, 2016 3:05 PM ESTUpdated: Feb 21, 2016 3:05 PM EST By The Charlotte Observer Staff CHARLOTTE, NC (Fred Clasen-Kelly and Cleve R. Wootson Jr./ The Charlotte Observer)- The Charlotte woman didn’t know her daughter was a drug addict until she heard a thud…


  • Cutting off the opioid epidemic at the root

    Posted on: February 16th, 2016

    By Maura Healey   FEBRUARY 16, 2016 IT’S BEEN nearly two years since the state declared prescription drug and heroin addiction a public health emergency. Since then, we’ve had an all-hands-on-deck approach from lawmakers, police and fire chiefs, health professionals, and community groups. But our…


  • Fentanyl related deaths driving opioid epidemic

    Posted on: December 28th, 2015

    By Editorial Board on December 24, 2015 at 8:06 AM The algebra of need – a concept first posited by the novelist William Burroughs to describe the insatiable sickness of addiction – is neatly detailed on a line chart created by Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Dr….


  • Video – Welcome to Loucas Law

    Posted on: November 10th, 2014