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Opioid epidemic

Bags of white powdery fentanyl on a table.

How the deadly drug fentanyl is making its way to the US

Health

Fentanyl, a deadly drug 100 times stronger than morphine, is linked to complex international supply chains that traffic it into the US.

closeup of an acupuncturist's hands inserting needles

Is acupuncture a viable alternative to opioids for patients in pain?

Health & Medicine
women at a prison

As opioids land more women in prison, Ohio finds alternative treatments

Lifestyle
A used container of the drug Narcan, which is used against opioid overdoses, lies on the ground in a park in the Kensington section of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Oct. 26, 2017.

US life expectancy fell in 2016 for second year in a row

Health
OxyContin

The family that helped start the opioid crisis

Medicine
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A pharmacist holds prescription painkiller OxyContin, 40mg pills, made by Purdue Pharma L.D. at a local pharmacy.

Why the opioid crisis is an American problem

Health

America leads the world in drug overdose deaths and opioid consumption. And it has a lot to do with the ways prescription painkillers are advertised and regulated in the US compared to other countries.

Master Grower Ryan Douglas waters marijuana plants in a growing room at Tweed Marijuana Inc. in Smith's Falls, Ontario.

Is marijuana a secret weapon against the opioid epidemic?

Health

Studies suggest that in states with medical marijuana programs, there are fewer opioid overdose-related deaths.

Police

The number of daily opioid overdoses in South Florida is overwhelming police

Lifestyle

The man’s roommates found him unconscious and he was turning blue, not breathing. He was overdosing on heroin.

Pills

In 2015 alone, 33,000 Americans died of an opioid-related overdose. What’s fueling the epidemic?

Health

Prescribed drugs — as well as illicit ones, are feeding the opioid epidemic, according to two experts.

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