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Walmart Pays $50 Million to Settle Opioid Dispensing Case
Most people given opioids for short-term pain stop taking them well before the pain is gone. That’s the reassuring finding from a large new federally supported study. The harder finding is what stays behind in the medicine cabinet, and why leftover pills should be properly trashed. However, many prescriptions stay in the cabinet, which leads …
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2 in 3 Patients Had Leftover Opioid Pills, JAMA Finds
Most people given opioids for short-term pain stop taking them well before the pain is gone. That’s the reassuring finding from a large new federally supported study. The harder finding is what stays behind in the medicine cabinet, and why leftover pills should be properly trashed. However, many prescriptions stay in the cabinet, which leads …
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Study Links Multiple Heroin Use Routes to Higher Overdose Odds
For years, the working assumption in overdose prevention was that injecting carried the highest risk and that moving away from it lowered that risk. A new analysis of people affected by heroin addiction in Baltimore complicates the picture. It found no evidence that any one route of use was riskier than another. In this case, …
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Health Officials Report 27% Drop in San Francisco Overdose Deaths
San Francisco overdose deaths fell 27% in the first half of 2026 compared with the same period last year, the city’s Department of Public Health announced at a press conference in mid-July. The city recorded 262 overdose deaths from January through June. For people who use drugs in San Francisco and for the families around …
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Drug Trafficking Kingpin Sentenced to 20 Years in Federal Prison
The leader of an international drug trafficking organization operating through Southern California was sentenced on July 9 to 240 months, or 20 years, in federal prison. For people living with narcotic addiction and the families around them, it’s a reason to celebrate. To be sure, The Golden State offers a wide breadth of programs ranging …
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Florence, Alabama Directs $300,000 Opioid Settlement to Schools
Opioid settlement dollars have now reached schools and classrooms in northwest Alabama. Florence’s city council voted unanimously to approve Mayor Ron Tyler’s resolution directing a portion of the city’s opioid settlement funds toward a school-based prevention program. The vote gives Florence City Schools $300,000 over three years to address opioid addiction before students encounter it. …
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Army Kratom Ban Requires Substance Use Evaluation for Soldiers
A substance sold legally in gas stations across much of the country is now explicitly prohibited for every soldier in the U.S. Army. The policy does something notable for anyone tracking opioid addiction in the military. The kratom ban now routes soldiers toward clinical evaluation rather than treating the matter as a disciplinary question alone. …
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Utah Detects Medetomidine in Street Drugs but Urges Naloxone
Utah has confirmed that medetomidine, a veterinary sedative, is present in its illicit drug supply. The state’s task forces for opioids and fentanyl zeroed in and identified the substance that can complicate treatment and recovery efforts via naloxone. While this news is alarming, Utah residents do have options. The Beehive State offers a wide range …
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New Opioid Additive Can Be 10 Times More Potent Than Fentanyl
A synthetic opioid additive that can be considerably more potent than fentanyl has turned up in the illicit drug supply in Maryland and other states. It belongs to a class first identified internationally in 2019. Marylanders have good reason for concern. Even though The Free State boasts a wealth of treatment programs and grassroots organizations …
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LA County Fentanyl Deaths Fall for a Third Straight Year
Drug overdose deaths in Los Angeles County fell for a third consecutive year in 2025, with fentanyl playing a smaller role than it did just two years ago, according to the county’s Department of Public Health. The drop reflects the abundance of treatment programs for opioid use disorders in The Golden State, from inpatient care …
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