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The Latest Breaking News from Opioids

The Shady Statistics Behind the War on Painkillers

The government has doubled down on failed policies, citing deeply flawed studies and misrepresenting data.

Reason

Animal tranquiliser added to opioids causing ‘steep increase’ in deaths

Authors of new study say there is not enough awareness of effects of xylazine, which is being mixed in with heroin and fentanyl

The Guardian - US

Synthetic opioids and sedative may be behind rise of fatal overdoses in West Midlands

Exclusive: About 30 deaths in two months being examined for involvement of heroin substitute nitazenes and tranquilliser xylazine

The Guardian - UK

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What’s fentanyl, and why have deaths due to drug overdose spiked in the US?

In 2021, two-thirds of drug-related overdose deaths in the US were linked to synthetic opioids like fentanyl.

Al Jazeera

What are nitazenes? Criminals smuggle deadly drugs in dog food into UK

Some nitazenes are thought to be 100 times stronger than heroin and have caused more than 100 deaths in the UK

Evening Standard

London on drug alert after seizure of ‘super strength’ opioid

Fears that new super-strength lab-made heroin could sweep the capital increased on Wednesday after police said they had seized a batch of the drug in east London.

Evening Standard

US takes aim at China companies, executives over fentanyl supply chain

US sanctions, indicts Chinese firms, executives said to supply chemicals used to produce highly addictive opioids.

Al Jazeera

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Nitazenes: synthetic opioids more deadly than fentanyl are starting to turn up in overdose cases

The synthetic opioid fentanyl is well known for the many lives it has claimed – mainly in the US, but elsewhere too. Now, a less well-known class of synthetic opioids called nitazenes is starting to crop up in overdose cases, on both sides of the Atlantic.

The Conversation

Study maps overdose crisis' fourth wave

New research found cocaine or methamphetamine paired with fentanyl was responsible for one-third of overdose deaths

Salon

Fentanyl mixed with cocaine or meth is driving the '4th wave' of the overdose crisis

A new study finds a 50-fold growth in deaths from combined use of stimulants and opioids. The toxic and contaminated drug supply is to blame.

WEKU

Prescription opioid shipments declined sharply even as fatal overdoses increased, new data shows

New data shows that the number of prescription opioid pills shipped in the U.S. continued to fall through the late 2010s even as the nation's overdose crisis deepened

The Independent UK

Kroger just agreed to pay up to $1.2 billion to states and Native American tribes who sued it for distributing opioids

The settlement is not an admission of wrongdoing or liability, the company said, adding that it would “continue to vigorously defend against any other claims and lawsuits relating to opioids.”

Fortune

If You Need Pain Pills, Politicians Want To Monitor Your Body Chemistry

Our political leaders envision a future in which high-tech implants snitch about our use of painkillers.

Reason

Is fentanyl coming to London?

It kills tens of thousands of Americans every year, but the toll from fentanyl and other lab-made opioids could be about to get much worse. Gavin Haynes explains why a global heroin shortage could spark a US-style drugs crisis on British shores

Evening Standard

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WEKU

UK study helps counties most impacted by substance use disorder with access to treatment and educat

Thursday marked International Overdose Awareness Day. The Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy says more than 2,100 Kentuckians died last year because of an overdose – a five percent decrease from the year prior. 90 percent of those deaths were from opioids.

The Guardian - US

‘Please ask for my help!’: a Chicago taskforce tries to save lives from deadly fentanyl

The West Side heroin/opioid taskforce is confronting the growing overdose crisis among the city’s Black population

Chicago Sun-Times

Netflix’s ‘Painkiller’ doesn’t tell the full story of prescription opioids

The six-part miniseries vividly portrays Purdue Pharma’s reckless marketing of OxyContin. But it dismisses the caveat: that there are legitimate medical uses for this drug and other prescription opioids.

WEKU

Caring for people with fentanyl addiction often means treating terrible wounds

The fentanyl-additive Xylazine causes open wounds, making the illegal drug supply even more dangerous and treatment more complicated

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Kiplinger

Cannabis Linked to Decreased Use of Opioids: This Week in Cannabis Investing

A federally funded study found that cannabis can help reduce opioid cravings and abuse.

WEKU

Only 1 in 5 people with opioid addiction get the medications to treat it, study finds

Overdose deaths from fentanyl and other opioids have surged but medications that could save thousands of lives "are sitting on the shelf unused," according to new research.

The Texas Tribune

Top Texas A&M officials were involved in botched recruiting of journalism professor, who will receive $1 million settlement

A new internal report, conducted by the university system’s office of general counsel, also looked into Texas A&M’s decision to temporarily suspend a respected opioids expert after she was accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in a lecture.

The Texas Tribune

Suspended Texas A&M professor denies saying Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick believes overdose victims “deserve to die”

Texas Land Commissioner Dawn Buckingham alleged Wednesday that opioids expert Joy Alonzo told students in a guest lecture that “Your Lt. Governor says those kids deserve to die.” Alonzo denied the claims.

The Conversation

Opioids and cocaine are a deadly combination – and 'polydrug' deaths are rising

Drug deaths in the US involving both opioids and cocaine have increased dramatically in the past decade, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).

The Texas Tribune

Texas A&M suspended professor accused of criticizing Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick in lecture

The professor, an expert on the opioids crisis, was placed on paid administrative leave and investigated, raising questions about the extent of political interference in higher education, particularly in health-related matters.

The Guardian - UK

Ethiopians dying in agony due to lack of opioids while west battles a surfeit

Poor countries get 1% of global supply … to treat half the world’s people. In Ethiopia, a new initiative has begun, but too late for those suffering without oral morphine

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