Powerful synthetic opioids and drugs like meth and cocaine still flood U.S. communities, fueling historically high overdose deaths.
overdose deaths
Posted inNPR
In a decade of drug overdoses, more than 320,000 American children lost a parent
New research documents how many children lost a parent to an opioid or other overdose in the period from 2011 to 2021. Bereaved children face elevated risks to their physical and emotional health.
Posted inHealth, Local
More people who use cocaine in Rhode Island are dying of overdoses
In an empty stairwell in Pawtucket, R.I., Jackson offered to show a reporter how he tries to reduce his risk of overdosing when he smokes crack cocaine. (Jackson agreed to speak to The Public’s Radio for this story on the condition that we use only his first name.) It had been several hours since his […]
Posted inHealth
R.I. plans for state’s first supervised consumption site for illegal drugs proceeding cautiously
Across the country, overdose prevention centers continue to face pushback, most recently in New York City. Plans to open Rhode Island’s first supervised consumption site for illegal drugs in 2024 are proceeding cautiously. Health reporter Lynn Arditi talked with The Public’s Radio Morning Edition host, Luis Hernandez, about what’s at stake in Rhode Island.
Posted inArticle, Health
RI communities get millions in opioid settlement funds. But who knows how they’re spending it?
More than $10.5 million has flowed into Rhode Island cities and towns so far from legal settlements with opioid manufacturers, distributors and sellers with no explicit requirements that the municipalities publicly report how the money is spent. The direct payments to cities and towns are part of nationwide settlement agreements with companies like Johnson & […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Rhode Island’s first safe consumption site for illegal drugs slated for early 2024
Rhode Island became the first state to legalize supervised drug consumption sites in 2020, but finding an affordable location delayed its launch.
Posted inArticle, Health
Communities are divided over Rhode Island’s plan for safe drug injection sites
Representative Stephen M. Casey is an unlikely crusader for supervised drug injection sites. A Democrat from Woonsocket, R.I., he’s also a Catholic and self-described conservative. He’s against abortion rights. And he supports the Second Amendment right to own a gun. “So my first reaction was like no way,’’ Casey said. “As a rescue guy I’m […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Most Mass. Counties Have Among The Highest Rates Of Dispensing Overdose-Reversal Drug
Massachusetts has among the highest rates of dispensing naloxone, the drug that can reverse an opioid overdose, according to new federal data.Among counties nationwide, Franklin County in western Massachusetts last year had the fourth-highest rate of prescriptions for naloxone — commonly sold under the brand name Narcan — with more than 2,200 prescriptions filled for every 100,000 […]
Posted inArticle, Health
Mass. Panel Recommends One Or More Supervised Consumption Sites To Reduce Opioid OD Deaths
Massachusetts should test the use of clinics where drug users can shoot up or inhale drugs, and be revived by medical staff if needed because such clinics save lives. That’s the gist of a recommendation to state lawmakers that will be included in a report due later this week.
