Heroin

As Vermont focuses its law enforcement efforts on heroin, use of crack cocaine is surging, Vermont Public Radio reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 20- Thursday, May 26, 2016.

The increase in heroin use has led to a growing number of grandparents raising their grandchildren, according to The New York Times. The parents of these children are dead, in jail, in rehab, or are otherwise unable to care for their own children.

Opioid addiction treatment experts say although the evidence is clear that medication-assisted treatment is the best way to tackle the nation’s opioid epidemic, there is still a stigma attached to using these medications.

The opioid crisis is fueling the problem of elder abuse, as adult children who are addicted to drugs exploit parents and other relatives, experts tell The Boston Globe.

The U.S. House on Wednesday passed 10 bills designed to fight opioid addiction. They are part of a package of 18 bills expected to be approved this week, USA Today reports.

Most jails and prisons do not provide medication-assisted treatment for opioid addiction. Experts tell NPR that for inmates who are forced to detox from methadone, tolerance for opioids decreases, while cravings increase. This raises their risk of overdose after they are released.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, May 6- Thursday, May 12, 2016.

The U.S. House is scheduled this week to vote on 18 bills designed to combat opioid addiction. The measures are expected to be approved, The New York Times reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 29- Thursday, May 5, 2016.

A new medically supervised space where people can go after they inject heroin has opened in Boston. ABC News reports the room, run by the Boston Health Care for the Homeless Program, is part of a growing movement to use harm reduction strategies to reduce the risk of overdose.

A new study finds some of the nation’s areas with high rates of drug overdose deaths do not have a corresponding high rate of drug trafficking. This suggests drugs are passing through counties with high rates of drug trafficking without affecting the death rates of people in those regions, the researchers said. Instead, those drugs are causing overdose deaths in other parts of the country, CBS News reports.

A bipartisan group of members of the U.S. House of Representatives on Thursday presented 15 bills aimed at fighting opioid addiction, according to The Hill.

As the heroin crisis continues to escalate in the United States, interest is growing in the experience of North America’s only facility allowed to prescribe diacetylmorphine hydrochloride, the active ingredient in heroin. The facility, located in Vancouver, British Columbia, has been successful in keeping participants out of jail and away from emergency rooms, The New York Times reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 15- Thursday, April 21, 2016.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 8- Thursday, April 14, 2016.

A new study suggests the opioid painkiller hydromorphone may help treat people with heroin addiction.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, April 1- Thursday, April 7, 2016.

The St. Louis area has been flooded with a cheap new form of potent heroin, leading to a wave of overdoses, addiction and crime, The New York Times reports.

A group in Seattle says it wants to open a site where people can use drugs under medical supervision, according to The Seattle Times. Advocates say such sites can reduce overdose deaths, HIV and hepatitis C transmissions.

A new study finds monthly injections of the anti-addiction medication extended-release naltrexone (Vivitrol) can significantly decrease relapse rates among people addicted to opioids. The study included 153 adults who formerly had been incarcerated and had a history of opioid dependence.

A measure designed to protect babies born to mothers who used opioids during pregnancy was introduced in the U.S. House on Wednesday, Reuters reports. A similar bill moved to the Senate floor last week.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, March 18- Thursday, March 24, 2016.

A commission appointed by President Obama and Congress urged the federal government to increase protections for drug-affected babies, Reuters reports.

Top headlines of the week from Friday, March 11- Thursday, March 17, 2016.