OPIOIDS

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Canada’s Addiction Crisis Mirrors Closest Neighbor

For a review of the opiate addiction crisis, most people instantly think of and look to the United States. But in many ways, Canada, the neighbor to the north, has had an almost identical opioid crisis. What can be learned from it? And what might be done...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Has Germany Avoided the Opioid Epidemic?

By many accounts, Germany has managed to escape the brunt of the opioid addiction crisis that is causing untold problems across much of the western world. Did they merely buy time? Or is this something other countries can learn from?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Winnipeg Experiences a Surge in Opioid Overdoses During COVID-19 – What Can We Learn from That Crisis?

What happens when a city experiences a massive surge in drug overdose deaths? What resources do residents have to help addicts before they overdose? One Canadian city is forced to find out.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

A Growing Drug Problem in Maryland Raises Concern

Drug overdoses are one of the leading health problems in the United States. And while drug addiction is present in every U.S. state, the crisis touches down with more force in some states than in others. Maryland is one such state.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Methamphetamine Is Now Assaulting the Same Regions Crippled by Opioids

For the last decade, we’ve been focused on fighting an epidemic of opioid use and overdose deaths. While we were occupied dealing with that problem, methamphetamine has made a comeback. This should be a lesson to never get too fixed on one specific drug...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How a Surge in Opiate Misuse in the Netherlands Compares to the American Opiate Epidemic

For some time, the U.S. drug problem has seemed entirely unique. But now, similar problems are beginning to develop in Europe. How will European countries tackle their drug problems?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opiates? Hospitals Now Changing Their Approach

One of my colleagues is a veteran nurse who works in a hospital in Baton Rouge. He was born and raised in a sparsely populated, underserved area of Louisiana which is now being devastated by the opioid epidemic...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Halting the Runaway Train That is Our Opioid Crisis: Can We Do it?

It may seem like an impossible task to halt the runaway train of our opioid crisis. But Oklahoma has prepared a plan to do just that which can serve as a model for other states and let us estimate the price tag to eliminate this catastrophe.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opiates Show Little Effect At Easing Post Surgical Pain in Male Only Procedure

A recent article in U.S. News reported on a new study published in The Journal of Urology. The data suggests that taking opiate-based painkillers after a vasectomy does not improve pain control. Furthermore, taking such drugs after a vasectomy is also...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Will it Cost $800 Million the First Year to Bring Oklahoma’s Opioid Problem Under Control?

In an Oklahoma courtroom, state attorneys claim that Johnson & Johnson should pay their fair share for their role in creating the opioid epidemic that claimed thousands of lives in the state. Why will this cost more than $800 million the first year?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Expert Testimony, Opioid Drugs, and a 21st Century Epidemic

Within the opioid addiction epidemic in this country, several types of drugs play a role. But opiates take the lead for causing the most harm, for taking the most lives, and for creating the largest public health burden.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Why Does the U.S. Prescribe More Drugs than Other Countries?

A striking report from U.S. News revealed that American surgical patients are nine times more likely to receive a prescription for opioid pain relievers than Swedish patients. Even bringing the focus closer to home and comparing U.S. prescribing rates...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How Hard Was It to Detect the Opioid Epidemic as It Grew?

How did we get into the situation of opioid addiction like the one the U.S. struggles with now? To figure out how it happened, let’s take a look at how company executives may make decisions for the good of their company but that create serious problems...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Most Opioid Pill Addicts Still Receive Opioid Prescriptions Following an Overdose

Addiction is the health crisis of the century for millions of Americans and their families. A cursory examination of the addiction epidemic timeline reveals that pharmaceutical opioids played a huge role in the creation of the epidemic.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Now That the Oklahoma Lawsuit against Johnson & Johnson Is Over—What Happens Now?

In August 2019, Cleveland County Judge Thad Balkman ordered Johnson & Johnson and their subsidiary, Janssen Pharmaceuticals to pay Oklahoma $572 million for the harm their products cause. When the settlement is paid, what will the benefits actually be?...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Rural America—New Epicenter of Drug Use

The drug problem is no longer a “big city“ problem—it's in every city across the US. How did this happen? Growing up in rural, farmland Michigan, I would never have thought that drug addiction would become a problem for those of us accustomed to...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Teens Exposed to Opioid Painkillers in Medical Settings

When we think of how young people are exposed to opiate drugs, what is the first thing we think of? Probably the most likely answer is “peer pressure.“ And not without good reason.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Will the Next Generation of Doctors Be Better Equipped to Treat Pain?

We look to our doctors for help in improving our physical condition, and that covers a broad range of areas.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Study Shows Acetaminophen as Effective As Opioids with Some Chronic Pain Sufferers

When I see a headline in the media about opioid painkillers, the first thing I think of is addiction. And rightly so, as most news stories tend to be about the addictive nature of opioid painkillers, about overdoses, drug crime connected to painkillers,...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Are Young People Using Drugs More Often than They Used to?

Drug and alcohol misuse at any age carries with it a severe risk not only for the user but for those around them as well. And while drug and alcohol misuse can occur with anyone, at any time, and under just about any circumstances, this life-threatening...