opioid epidemic

Phish guitarist Trey Anastasio plans to start a substance use disorder treatment center in Vermont, where the band was formed in 1983. Anastasio, who is now 14 years sober, announced Thursday that his Divided Sky Foundation has purchased a building for the nonprofit center in Ludlow. “Like so many people in America and so many in Vermont, I became addicted…

Advocates and lawmakers are calling for high-level attention on steps to address the crisis of drug overdose deaths in Vermont, which they say has worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. These calls came the same day Gov. Phil Scott, R-Vermont, proclaimed Wednesday Recovery Day in the state, vowing to support people with substance use disorders in seeking treatment and brighter days…

Vermont advocates push for new ways to address opioid crisis after substance use rises during the pandemic.

Doctors say they’re facing increasing threats of violence for refusing to prescribe opioids or trying to wean patients off the addictive painkillers.

Baker administration finance officials are characterizing the governor’s fiscal 2022 spending plan as something of a recovery budget, and the $45.6 billion proposal includes several measures targeting areas spotlighted by the COVID-19 pandemic. In public health, Gov. Charlie Baker’s budget will include spending to support staffing at the state laboratory and public health hospitals and continue $10 million in grants…

Gov. Charlie Baker dedicated his annual State of the Commonwealth address Tuesday evening to the people of Massachusetts, from how they’ve heroically confronted the coronavirus pandemic to how much TV they’ve been watching. Baker thanked Massachusetts residents for how they’ve adjusted to mitigate the coronavirus pandemic and the heroes who have stepped up to help during the calamitous year....

The CDC reports that overdose fatalities in the U.S. have spiked during the coronavirus pandemic.

Doctors explain the stress of isolation, loss of work and loss of health coverage are partially to blame — but they’re finding that something else is causing the spike in overdoses.

Purdue Pharma, the manufacturer of the painkiller Oxycontin, pleaded guilty to charges for its role in the opioid crisis. 

The Department of Justice announced Wednesday that Purdue Pharma agreed to plead guilty to criminal charges for their marketing of OxyContin.

Up to seven people were hospitalized, including five law enforcement officers and a tow truck driver, after a chemical exposure while attempting to aid the driver of a car who stopped on the Golden Gate Bridge Sunday, California authorities said.

The number of fatal drug overdoses grew 7% last year in Maine, underscoring that the opioid epidemic continues to be a major health care challenge in the state, officials said Friday. The 380 deaths remained below the peak of 417 overdose deaths in 2017, according to the analysis by Dr. Marcella Sorg of the University of Maine’s Margaret Chase Smith…

A federal judge entered a final order Tuesday on his ruling last year that a nonprofit’s proposal to open the nation’s first supervised injection site for opioid users in Philadelphia does not violate federal law.

Opioid deaths in Massachusetts are no longer on the rise, according to the Department of Health, but officials say progress has slowed. Deaths from opioid overdoses dropped 3% in the Bay State from 2016 to 2017, and dropped 2% from 2017 to 2018, but improvement stopped from 2018 to 2019. Health officials saw virtually no change in that timeframe. These…

Police said they found multiple medicine bottles around the family’s Bensalem apartment including one in the baby’s swing.

A Vermont city plans to expand and adapt a program that sought to address the opioid crisis and other social problems.

Overdose tracking systems are giving near real-time glimpses into the ravages of the opioid-fueled drug crisis. The Hudson Valley Interlink Analytic System in New York is among a number of surveillance systems being adopted around the country by police, government agencies and community groups.

Every time she got out of jail, Jamie Cline started hustling again for heroin, driven by an addiction she didn’t understand. “You want to get clean so bad. You know something’s killing you and you can’t stop,” said the 33-year-old who used heroin for 10 years.