opioid crisis

The city of Manchester, New Hampshire, is expanding on a new approach to tackling the opioid crisis. Officials are working to deploy rapid response teams to areas deemed “hot spots.” Community leaders met Wednesday with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Association of County and City Health Officials to work out the details for best practices…

A New Hampshire man who lost his daughter to a drug overdose was invited to President Joe Biden’s State of the Union address Tuesday night. Doug Griffin of Newton, New Hampshire, has been on a mission to create safe communities for those in addiction recovery since his daughter, Courtney, died from a fentanyl overdose at just 20 years old. Biden…

Health officials have released new data on opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts. While the total number of deaths is down slightly from last year, the reports indicates fentanyl is responsible for 94% of opioid overdose deaths in the Bay State. Opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts decreased in the first nine months of 2022 compared to the same time last year,…

The state is trying to combat the opioid crisis, but it’s currently on track to see another record year of deaths.

Could Maine have a record number of fatal drug overdoses for another year? New state overdose data compiled in a report published by state officials and University of Maine researchers shows that 565 people have died from fatal overdoses through October 2022. That is approximately 56 people per month. Last year, 631 people died from overdoses, at a rate of…

Jenna’s Promise in Johnson is a coffee roaster and cafe that includes a multi-faceted job skills training program for people in recovery.

A new cafe in Vermont’s Lamoille County is serving up something special: healthier and more productive futures for its employees. Jenna’s Coffee House will celebrate its grand opening Friday. Named after a local woman who lost her life to opioid use disorder, the coffee house will employ people in long-term recovery.  Under a partnership with Two Sons Bakehouse, the...

Walmart has agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the impact of the prescriptions its pharmacies filled for powerful prescription opioid painkillers. The deal would still need to be approved by 43 states to take effect. It follows a similar announcement from pharmacy chains CVS Health and Walgreen Co. They each said they would pay about $5...

CVS Health and Walgreen Co. announced agreements in principle Wednesday to pay about $5 billion each to settle lawsuits nationwide over the toll of opioids, and a lawyer said Walmart is in discussions for a deal.

A heartbreaking side effect of the opioid crisis is young kids growing up without their parents – either because they died of an overdose, or their dependency makes them no longer fit for child-rearing.  When this happens, the child’s grandparents are often called upon to fill the void, even though it brings hardship – emotionally and financially. Ten years ago,…

Over the past month or so, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration has been warning of “rainbow fentanyl,” which is now found in almost half the states in the country. The only state in New England with a confirmed report of the brightly-colored illegal drugs is Maine. According to the DEA, fentanyl has been spotted in forms like candy and...

Rainbow fentanyl, drugs created in colors that pop and almost look like children’s candy, has been found in 21 states for far, including Maine.

There are 2,290 flags on the campus of Newton-Wellesley Hospital, each representing a life lost to an opioid overdose in Massachusetts in 2021. The annual “Purple Flag Event” is held in remembrance of those lives. Hospital officials also host the event to make it clear that resources and support are available, and say they hope talking about the crisis can…

New Hampshire has reached a settlement with Johnson & Johnson in the state’s opioid case against the pharmaceutical company, four years after an initial complaint was filed. In a news release from Attorney General John Formella’s office, authorities say New Hampshire has reached a $40.5 million settlement with J&J subsidiary Janssen Pharmaceuticals. $31.5 million of that money is set...

After losing ground in reversing fatal overdoses during the COVID-19 pandemic, state leaders in Vermont are now redoubling their efforts — including by strengthening prevention and recovery measures. “Tragically, we and the rest of the country have seen an increase in loss of life,” Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, acknowledged Thursday. “Keeping Vermonters from being addicted in the first place is…

State leaders in Vermont are trying to handle a worsening opioid crisis after a record-high death toll from fentanyl last year.

New Hampshire’s Attorney General has filed a civil lawsuit against several pharmacy chains, claiming they helped fuel the Granite State’s opioid epidemic by allowing more opioids reach the public than what could be used for legitimate medical reasons. The suit, which was filed in Merrimack Superior Court Tuesday, alleges that pharmaceutical chains ignored red flags when dispensing the drugs....

San Diego County could soon have a new weapon in its arsenal to help fight its growing problem with opioid addiction.

The increase is “problematic for Massachusetts and for our country,” said Commissioner Margret Cooke.

Massachusetts tracked a “problematic” rise in its opioid overdose death rate from 2020 to 2021, the state’s public health commissioner said Wednesday. Commissioner Margret Cooke presented the latest overdose data at a Public Health Council meeting, telling members that the death rate per 100,000 residents rose to 32.6 last year. “This, very unfortunately, is a 9% increase over 2020,” Cooke…