opioids

Some physicians say administering anti-addiction medication as a monthly injection holds tremendous potential. So, why aren’t more patients getting it?

Three years after a government site launched to connect Americans to treatment, finding addiction care is still a struggle.

The Florida Legislature balked this year at a bill that would decriminalize fentanyl test devices, which remain illegal in about half of the states under drug paraphernalia laws adopted decades ago, drug policy experts say.

Attorney General Ashley Moody’s office claims five public hospital systems and the Miami-Dade school board are jeopardizing settlements with pharmaceutical companies over the opioid epidemic.

The state contends that Walgreens has been an integral part of the opioid epidemic. Opening statements are set for early next week. The pharmacy chain says it will not settle.

The settlements left Walgreens as the sole defendant in a lawsuit that targeted businesses involved in all aspects of the opioid industry. A Pasco County judge is scheduled to begin jury selection next week.

According to Ocala police, investigations have shown the drugs responsible for many of the overdose deaths enter the U.S. from Mexico.

The bill would allow naloxone to be administered by school staff trained to recognize an opioid overdose.

The order came in a lawsuit filed by the Florida attorney general’s office in 2018 seeking unspecified damages against drug manufacturers, retailers and distributors.

Health care-related measures in the proposal are targeted to combat the opioid epidemic, boost mental health programs and assist the elderly, veterans and people with disabilities.

After a 26% increase in opioid overdoses in Florida over the previous year,. Project Opioid founder Andrae Bailey says the pandemic accelerated the real problem: the synthetic opioid fentanyl flooding the markets.

Overdose rates were on the rise before the COVID pandemic, but last year's lockdowns exacerbated the issue.