Current Events

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 […]

The dominoes continue to fall for opioid makers and distributors. On June 10th, Insys Therapeutics filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. It is the first opioid manufacturer to do so. The bankruptcy comes just five days after the Phoenix-based drugmaker agreed to pay a $225 million settlement to the federal government over allegations that it […]

It was early in the day on Christmas Eve. Before the dental surgeon went off on holiday, he saw one last patient for a complex wisdom tooth extraction. That’s not quite accurate. All four of the teenager’s impacted wisdom teeth were going to be removed. The procedure went smoothly and the young man and his […]

What prevents people struggling with substance abuse from undergoing treatment? Start counting the ways. We interrupt this exercise to offer a reason that may not be top of mind. One word sums it up: transportation. Having a means of getting to treatment makes a difference. How important is it? An article in Modern Healthcare explains. […]

The Saga Continues… After several months of high-profile lawsuits against some of the country’s biggest opioid companies filling the headlines, we have reached what is perhaps the most dramatic episode yet. Earlier this month, a federal jury convicted top executives at the pharmaceutical producer Insys Therapeutics of bribing doctors to hock its fentanyl-based painkiller, among […]

Did Lynette Scavo deserve the moniker “desperate” in the former TV series Desperate Housewives? You bet ya’. Here’s a case in point. In “Running to Stand Still,” during the first season, this mother of young children had way too much to do in a compressed amount of time. How did she accomplish her must-do tasks? […]