Heroin

Top headlines of the week from Friday, June 19- Thursday, June 25, 2015.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, June 12- Thursday, June 18, 2015.

The small industrial city of Marion, Ohio is reeling from a recent surge in heroin overdoses. The Associated Press reports more than 30 people were sent to the hospital, and two people died, after taking blue-tinted heroin from Chicago in a 12-day stretch.

Determining exactly how many people die of heroin overdoses is difficult to pinpoint because many states do not require reporting of specific details on drug overdoses, NPR reports. Information that is available is usually at least two years old.

Scientists have figured out how to brew heroin’s raw ingredient in genetically modified yeast, raising concerns over whether the process should be regulated, according to The New York Times.

California emergency rooms have seen a sixfold jump in the number of young adults in their 20s with heroin poisoning over the last decade, according to Reuters.

A new study finds heroin use among people who abuse prescription opioids has risen, particularly among whites. From 2008 to 2011, the study found a 75 percent increase in heroin use among whites who abuse painkillers such as OxyContin or Vicodin, HealthDay reports.

Giving buprenorphine to patients addicted to opioids who are treated in the emergency room is more effective than simply providing them with a referral, a new study finds. Patients given buprenorphine were less likely to need in-patient treatment at a residential facility.

Heroin use rose significantly over the past 11 years, according to a new report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In the past year, 681,000 Americans aged 12 and older used heroin.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 17 - Thursday, April 23, 2015.

Extended-release naltrexone is associated with a much lower rate of heroin relapse in men who have been released from jail, compared with released inmates addicted to heroin who are not given treatment, a new study concludes.

The Department of Health and Human Services will provide more funds to distribute the opioid overdose antidote naloxone to first responders and family, USA Today reports.

As more states expand access to the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, some experts say more is needed to address the opioid addiction crisis, USA Today reports.

The Drug Enforcement Administration has issued a nationwide alert in response to a surge in overdose deaths from heroin laced with the narcotic drug fentanyl, the most potent opioid available for medical use.

Heroin-related deaths are now most common among young, white male adults in the Midwest, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Fifteen years ago, the death rate was highest among older black males in the West and Northeast.

The number of deaths from heroin is rising in Vermont, even though about 40 percent more people in the state are seeking treatment for addiction compared with a year ago.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 13, 2015- Thursday, February 19, 2015.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, February 6, 2015- Thursday, February 12, 2015.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 30, 2015- Thursday, February 5, 2015.

From e-cigarette vapor to new strains of synthetic marijuana, our Join Together News Service covers the top drug and alcohol news of the day making an impact in your community, work and life.

Mexican drug cartels are increasing their profits by exporting more heroin to the United States, the Associated Press reports. They are refining opium paste into high-grade white heroin, and using distribution routes they built for cocaine and marijuana.

A drug dealer testifying at the trial of Silk Road founder Ross William Ulbricht says he sold up to 600 small bags of heroin a day on the site. Michael Duch says he used most of the money to support his $2,000-to-$3,000-a-week heroin addiction.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 23, 2015- Thursday, January 29, 2015.

The diversion and abuse of prescription painkillers decreased slightly between 2011 and 2013, after increasing substantially from 2002 to 2010, according to a study in this week’s New England Journal of Medicine. The findings suggest the U.S. may be making progress in controlling prescription opioid abuse, the researchers say.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, January 9, 2015- Thursday, January 15, 2015.