Category: Painkillers
Weed withdrawal: More than half of people using medical cannabis for pain experience withdrawal symptoms
59% percent of people using medical cannabis for chronic pain experienced moderate to severe withdrawal symptoms if they stopped ingesting weed for hours or days.
Fatal overdoses spike in King County
These last two weeks mark a sharp increase—double the average number of weekly fatal overdoses throughout much of 2020.
COVID-19 Eased Drug Treatment Rules—And That Saved Lives
“Telehealth sessions have been a lifeline for those walking the long road to recovery during a stressful, isolating time.”
Perspective: Why opioids cannot fix chronic pain
Emotional pain and chronic pain are related, and painkillers, ultimately, make things worse
Cannabis found not to be a substitute for opioids
A meta-analysis of the studies found cannabis use didn’t reduce illicit opioid use during treatment nor did it retain people in treatment.
With Safe Injection Sites, ‘Somebody Has to Go First.’ It Could Be Philadelphia.
A non-profit wants to open a safe injection site in Philadelphia’s Kensington neighborhood, known for high-quality, cheap heroin and daily overdose deaths.
Overdose Prevention Should Include Alcohol Too, Study Suggests
Alcohol ramps up the effects of drugs that act on the brain and nervous system, and vice versa, which increases the risk of overdose.
Opioid Treatment Scam May Be Coming to Your State
Patient “brokers” can make initial commissions of as much as $2,000 for each patient they recruit for for-profit opioid treatment programs.
Increase in local overdose deaths linked to fentanyl-laced drugs
Fentanyl has been found in illicit M30, V48 and A215 pills and various powder products.
In Cherokee Country, Opioid Crisis Seen as Existential Threat
Native Americans, make up less than 2% of the population, have higher rates of overdose deaths from prescription and illicit opioids than any other racial/ethnic group
State makes it easier to access opioid overdose drug
Anyone who wants to get opioid overdose drug naloxone can now obtain the drug at any pharmacy in the state without a prescription.
Judge Cites Opioid ‘Menace,’ Awards Oklahoma $572M In Landmark Case
It’s the first ruling to hold a pharmaceutical company responsible for one of the worst drug epidemics in American history.
Where Doctors Can Recommend Marijuana to Replace Opioids
Colorado, Illinois and New York now allow health professionals to recommend marijuana instead of addictive, potentially deadly opioid pain pills.
Opioid study shows which counties are at high-risk
Study identified 412 counties are at least twice as likely to be at high risk for opioid overdose deaths and to lack providers who can deliver medications to treat opioid use disorder.
Opioid epidemic may have cost states $130 billion
In addition to effects on health care use, opioid misuse can also lead to significant declines in employment, which in turn rob states of expected tax revenue.