The latest news, tips and updates
from The Partnership at Drugfree.org.
Methadone causes 30 percent of prescription painkiller overdose deaths, according to a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Some doctors are now prescribing methadone to treat chronic problems such as back pain, which is making the drug more widely available. …
A study of twins suggests that genetics plays a major role in whether a person taking opioids is at increased risk of addiction, or will suffer unpleasant side effects from the drugs. …
Pharmacist groups and drug chains have successfully lobbied against stricter controls on prescription painkillers, The New York Times reports. The proposed controls would have applied to hydrocodone products. …
New York Senator Charles Schumer has proposed steps the federal government should take to tackle the increasing problem of opioid exposure in newborns. …
A new study concludes teenagers and young adults with mental health disorders are more likely to be prescribed opioids for chronic pain, and more likely to become long-term opioid users, compared with their peers who don’t have a mental health disorder. …
The Defense Department’s new drug testing policy is raising questions about what a valid prescription is, according to the Navy Times. …
Congressman Hal Rogers (KY) shares what he, his home state and the Congressional Caucus on Prescription Drug Abuse are doing to combat this national epidemic. …
Regulations designed to make it more difficult to abuse prescription painkillers are leading to an increase in heroin addiction, MSNBC reports. …
Costs related to narcotic painkillers are growing for workplace insurers, which are currently spending an estimated $1.4 billion on the drugs, The New York Times reports. …
Two emergency medicine experts have proposed what they call “ideal” prescription drug monitoring software, in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. …
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