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Prescription Drug Abuse

Prescriptions for benzodiazepines—used to relieve anxiety, agitation or sleep problems—are on the rise in the United States, according to a new study from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Fewer than 2% of people taking high doses of prescription opioids have filled a prescription for the opioid overdose antidote naloxone, a new study suggests.
A new study suggests that simply changing default computer settings in hospitals may reduce opioid prescriptions, HealthDay reports.
Many pharmacies don’t provide patients with instructions on how to properly dispose of unused opioids and antibiotics, according to a new study.
The drugs gabapentin and baclofen, both of which are sometimes prescribed instead of opioids for chronic pain, are increasingly being misused, according to a new report. The drugs are being used in a growing number of suicide attempts.
A judge in Oklahoma has reduced a verdict against opioid maker Johnson & Johnson by more than $100 million, NPR reports.
The total cost of the opioid epidemic is $179 billion per year in the United States, according to a new report by the Society of Actuaries.
Prescription drug misuse continues to be a serious problem in the United States, according to a new report by Quest Diagnostics.
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Four drug companies and two Ohio counties have reached a $260 million settlement in a landmark lawsuit over the opioid epidemic, The Washington Post reports.
Three drug distributors and two drug manufacturers are in talks to settle more than 2,000 lawsuits over the companies’ role in the nation’s opioid crisis, Reuters reports.
Purdue Pharma, the company that makes OxyContin, sent $12 billion or $13 billion in profits to members of the Sackler family who own the company, according to The Wall Street Journal.
Johnson & Johnson announced it has reached a $20.4 million settlement with two Ohio counties ahead of a huge federal trial to determine responsibility for the opioid crisis, The Washington Post reports.
The proposed settlement with OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma is “no more than a stopgap for local and state governments,” which will continue to face costs related to the opioid crisis that far exceed the agreed upon amounts, according to a new report by Moody’s Investors Services.
Purdue Pharma, the company that makes the opioid painkiller OxyContin, has filed for bankruptcy, CNN reports.
OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma has reached a tentative settlement worth billions of dollars to resolve thousands of lawsuits brought by state and local governments who sued the drug company for its role in the opioid epidemic.
A national task force is recommending that doctors screen all adult patients for illicit drug use, including nonmedical use of prescription drugs, The New York Times reports.
New research finds 44% of high school seniors who misuse prescription drugs get them from multiple sources, HealthDay reports.
A new motion filed in federal court alleges many drug makers and distributors did not implement basic systems to stop suspicious opioid orders, The Wall Street Journal reports.
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Opioid-related death rates between 2006 and 2012 were highest in rural communities in West Virginia, Kentucky and Virginia with a disproportionate share of opioid painkiller prescriptions, according to an analysis by The Washington Post.
Having a family member with an opioid prescription increases a person’s risk of ending up in the emergency room with a drug overdose almost threefold, a new study suggests.
Parents of adolescents can play a valuable role in protecting their teens from substance use, a new national survey by Center on Addiction finds.
On the second day of trial of a lawsuit against drug company Johnson & Johnson, the father of a college football player who died of an opioid overdose gave emotional testimony about the personal impact of the opioid crisis, Reuters reports.
As lawsuits against opioid manufacturers increase, a growing number of state and local officials say the companies should pay for the costs of the country’s opioid crisis, NPR reports.
Facebook is collaborating with Partnership for Drug-Free Kids + Center on Addiction to launch an initiative to encourage people to discuss their experiences with opioid dependency.
Six additional states—Kansas, Iowa, Maryland, Pennsylvania, West Virginia and Wisconsin—have filed lawsuits against the maker of OxyContin in state courts, according to The Wall Street Journal.
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