National News

Deaths caused by fentanyl continue to plague the younger segment of the population. As of last month, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says a minimum of 70,000 deaths over one year could be attributed to synthetic opioid overdoses, including thousands of teenagers and young adults. The Drug Enforcement…

The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) announced on Monday, June 28, 2021, that it is lifting the 14-year moratorium on methadone dispensing vans operated by narcotic treatment programs (NTPs). This rule change, which took effect on July 28, 2021, will have a significant impact on the nation’s 1,700 DEA-registered and…

Despite progress, drug overdose remains a leading cause of injury-related death in the United States. Overdoses involving prescription and illicit opioids take the lives of 136 people every day. Recently, dramatic increases in opioid misuse and overdose death have been observed among people from some racial and ethnic minority groups,…

Diego considers himself fortunate. The 49-year-old man, who is only being identified by his first name for privacy reasons, thinks back on some dark moments in his life —all associated with drugs. He said his brothers introduced him to narcotics when he was 12 and living in his hometown of…

A new Iris House campaign promotes HIV, hep C and STI testing and emphasizes the importance of mental health among young people. What makes you glow? For a group of young social media influencers in a new awareness campaign titled “Simply Glow’d,” the answer is getting tested for HIV, hepatitis…

Social-distancing measures and lockdowns have disproportionately increased alcohol use in the LGBTQ community, studies find. Abigail Mazzarella, 26, often went to gay bars in Baltimore before Covid-19 stay-at-home measures were introduced. “I don’t live anywhere near my family, so I did depend on that community and friendships to get by…

“Fentanyl is also being pressed into pills that resemble prescription opioids or benzodiazepines,” health officials said. “While fentanyl has been in Philadelphia’s heroin supply for several years, its presence in non-opioid drugs and counterfeit pills is especially concerning as individuals who prefer these drugs may have had little exposure to…

The U.S. is seeing its worst COVID-19 surge of the year. Yet as the number of new cases, hospitalizations and deaths all rise, the country continues to deal with a concurrent epidemic affecting Americans: A drug overdose epidemic driven by illicit fentanyl, methamphetamine and cocaine. AMA Immediate Past President Patrice A.…

By Allyson Chiu November 23, 2020 at 8:00 a.m. EST In the roughly eight years since she left treatment for alcohol-use disorder, Amy Durham has been to countless recovery group meetings. At first, she went every day, before gradually scaling back to two or three times a week — a…