Current Events

“Meth makes you a monster. I’m not going to sugar coat it.” These are the thoughts of someone who knows. A former meth addict, the woman behind these words fought her way to recovery and to tell her story. In this sense, she is one of the lucky ones. She managed to break free from […]

A judge has recently ruled Philadelphia’s first safe injection site to be legal. The decision is the first of its kind and will likely spark conflict with the Justice Department. Safe injection sites remain illegal under the Controlled Substances Act, and the Justice Department is already set to appeal the ruling. Just what is going […]

With a trial looming, Big Pharma companies are seeking the removal of Judge Dan Polster. Set to oversee the landmark trial over Big Pharma’s role in fueling the opioid epidemic, the defendant drug companies alleged that Polster’s “unusual level of commitment” to reaching a settlement was affecting his decision making. Polster is likely to deny […]

Is the opioid epidemic that is ravaging the United States going global? The epidemic has the potential to spread overseas to countries like the United Kingdom, Germany, and the Netherlands. Early research suggests these countries may be at particular risk due to an increasing number of opioid prescriptions. Yet, preliminary observations suggest that the United […]

It’s official: Purdue Pharma, makers of the notorious opioid OxyContin, filed for bankruptcy this past Sunday. The filing comes as part of an ongoing legal battle for the Connecticut-based drug manufacturer. Just days prior, Purdue reached a tentative deal to settle thousands of lawsuits brought by states, counties, cities, Native American tribes, and other plaintiffs. […]

Fentanyl; the word alone has an ominous ring to it. What was once an obscure synthetic opioid, reserved almost exclusively for late-stage cancer patients in extreme pain, has become synonymous with the opioid epidemic. The drug, between 50 and 100 times more powerful than morphine, is fueling overdoses in the United States. How did this […]

Why hasn’t the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) been taking a greater role in resolving the opioid epidemic? Judging by a recent article on The Washington Post, it’s not for lack of trying. Instead, it appears the DEA has fallen victim to regulative restriction funded by and designed to protect opioid distributors and manufacturers. Early Warning […]

For the first time since 1990, the number of Americans killed by drug overdose may have dropped from the year prior. Preliminary data released in July by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) indicate that drug overdose deaths declined by about 5 percent in 2018. The CDC puts the number of deaths at […]

Last month, we got an unprecedented peek into the drug industry’s role in the opioid epidemic thanks to the release of a previously sealed cache of data from some of the country’s biggest pharmaceutical companies and pharmacies. The data, which was collected by the Drug Enforcement Administration, was unveiled by a federal court in Ohio […]

Although the Doobie Brothers didn’t pinpoint what they were singing about in “Takin’ it to the Streets” some years ago, one thing is for sure. They weren’t referring to a phenomenon that’s been taking shape around transportation centers in the New York City metropolitan area. A one-page spread recently appeared about it in The New […]

“Baby Boomers,” the unofficial, yet often used social construct seemed to start the naming cascade. Generation X, Gen Y, and Gen Z followed. Now there’s a new one, but less strictly demographic and more situational. It’s “Generation O.” The “O” comes from opioids. And the members of this group are the children of those addicted […]

Our public libraries have a treasure trove of resources. There are books, of course. Let’s not forget newspapers, magazines, educational programs, book clubs, computers, movies, children’s and cultural events. The list goes on. Libraries serve a vital role in their communities. Many people remember the experience of getting their very first library card. I know […]