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Some sixty “Opioid Overdose Kits” have been added defibrillator boxes in Bridgewater State University dorms and academic buildings like this one. Tovia Smith / NPR As the opioid epidemic has escalated around the nation, colleges and universities have been spared the brunt of it. Opioid addiction and overdoses are more rare on campuses than among […]

By Marcia Moore mmoore@dailyitem.com The nation’s deadly opioid crisis has been allowed to flourish due to the failings of a number of entities, says a Geisinger Health System addiction specialist. “This is bigger than just the FDA,” said Dr. Margaret Jarvis, medical director of Geisinger’s residential addiction treatment center, referring to a Raycom InvestigateTV report

Congress is doing something about the opioid epidemic. But experts say it’s not enough. By German Lopez@germanrlopezgerman.lopez@vox.com  Updated Oct 3, 2018, 4:03pm EDT The Senate on Wednesday voted 98-1 on a rare bipartisan package to address the opioid epidemic, sending the measure, following the House’s 393-8 approval last Friday, to President Donald Trump’s desk for his expected signature. If

Ohio’s ballot initiative, Issue 1, will let voters decide whether to defelonize drug possession. By German Lopez@germanrlopezgerman.lopez@vox.com  Oct 12, 2018, 8:00am EDT This November, Ohio voters will have an opportunity to deal a blow to the war on drugs and mass incarceration. Ohio Issue 1, a ballot initiative, would reduce drug possession offenses to misdemeanors, so they’re

Medical doctors, inadvertently and meaning to serve their patients, too often overprescribed opioid pain pills, like OxyContin, Vicodin, and Percodan. Coupled with misleading information about the safety of these drugs and a growing focus to not undertreat pain, the opioid epidemic began. The plague of overdose deaths continues today. Doctors need to be part of

Can a pharmacist legally deny a patient a prescription? That’s the question local doctor and addiction medicine specialist Dr. Ken Starr is struggling to understand after an unusual experience at a Central Coast pharmacy. He treats dozens of patients who are dependent on opioids and he often prescribes Suboxone to reduce symptoms of addiction and

“Decriminalization is not a silver bullet,” federal Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor said at last week’s Opioid Symposium in Toronto. It’s a well-worn Liberal talking point and it’s technically correct, of course. There is no simple, magical solution to the complex, multi-faceted opioids crisis. But by taking decriminalization off the table, the federal government is

  Suboxone (Ashley L. Conti | BDN) HOULTON (BDN) — A Madawaska woman facing a 40-day sentence for theft at the Aroostook County Jail has filed a lawsuit in federal court seeking to continue taking her addiction treatment medication while incarcerated. Brenda Smith’s is the second lawsuit filed recently over the same issue. In July,

A man uses heroin under a bridge where he lives with other addicts in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, which has become a hub for heroin use. “Can we help?” asks Instagram if you search #opioid. On Wednesday, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app launched a feature to support people who may be struggling with substance abuse, drug

A new study found that treatment of opioid use disorder with either methadone or buprenorphine following a nonfatal opioid overdose is linked to reductions in opioid related mortality. The study is in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Study authors analyzed data from 17,568 adults in Massachusetts who survived an opioid overdose between 2012 and 2014.