UNITED STATES OF AMERICA

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Most Americans are Open to Non-Opioid Pain Relief Post-Surgery

A survey published by Orlando Health showed that 68% of Americans would be willing to try alternatives to opioids for post-surgery pain. Given that opioid prescriptions are one of the most common ways Americans become addicted to drugs, these findings...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New York Next in Line to Settle Opioid Case with Big Pharma

Over the past few years, dozens of lawsuits have culminated in major pharmaceutical companies being held at least somewhat accountable for creating America’s crippling opioid addiction epidemic. Most recently, New York State settled a $524 million lawsuit...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Health Experts Sound the Alarm Over Allergy Meds Found in Street Opioids

Newly published research has produced evidence of yet another drug risk, i.e., allergy medications being added to illicit street opioids. This development poses an increased risk to users, as antihistamines have a drowsiness effect, which, when coupled...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Additional Challenges Faced by Addicted Veterans

Drug addiction affects everyone differently. While such a crisis is unique to the individual, certain demographics face challenges one might not find elsewhere. For example, military veterans who become addicted to drugs and alcohol often feel disinclined...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Drug Overdoses Contributed to the Latest Drop in American Life Expectancy

While many factors influence American life expectancy, some causes of death (and the ever-changing upticks and downward-trends surrounding such deaths) are considered more of an influence than others. For example, fatal accidental injuries spiked in the...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Shocking Role of Methamphetamine in Rural Overdose Deaths

New research has chronicled the alarming rise in methamphetamine-related deaths over the last few years. In the findings, analysts were able to identify where in the U.S., meth-related deaths have been occurring the most. The overwhelming majority of them...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Alcohol Addiction and Mortality Rates Have Soared Since Pandemic

Alcohol addiction and alcohol-related deaths have increased dramatically in recent years. Today, alcohol consumption is one of the leading causes of preventable death in the United States. Yet, unlike the opioid epidemic, alcohol misuse receives little...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Tracing A Network of Crime: How Pharma Distributors Acted as the Middlemen in the Opioid Epidemic

In the now two-decade-long opioid epidemic in the U.S., pharmaceutical opioid manufacturers, pharmacies, and doctors have all come under fire for the role they played in the surge of opioid addiction and death. One group, previously unnoticed and only...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Criminal Acts: How Pharma Companies Pushed Drugs They Knew Were Addictive and Dangerous

The Sackler Family and Purdue Pharmaceuticals deny any responsibility for the role they played in creating the opioid addiction epidemic. And while the most recent litigation against Purdue/the Sackler family ended in immunity for them and an abdication...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Federal Judge Overturns Sackler/Purdue Pharma Bid for Bankruptcy Protection

In an alarming development in the ongoing litigation between thousands of plaintiffs against Purdue Pharmaceuticals (and the Sackler family that owns it), a federal judge just overturned the Sackler bid for bankruptcy protection and immunity. What does...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Teva Pharmaceuticals Found Guilty

In the slew of recent lawsuits against pharmaceutical companies, yet another loss for Big Pharma was announced on December 30th, 2021, in the case of New York State against Teva Pharmaceuticals.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Western and Midwestern U.S. Hard Hit by Fentanyl Overdoses

For much of the 2010s, fentanyl addiction and overdoses surged in regional areas like the Northeast, Appalachia, and the Southeast. At the time, many experts believed fentanyl addiction and overdose would remain a localized crisis, not a national one....

STATISTICS & TRENDS

New Threat to Watch For: Unwashed Poppy Seed Consumption

Clinicians and families alike may not be aware of the risk posed by consumption of a readily available type of poppy seed. Despite this lack of awareness, this seed can result in addiction, overdose and death.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Over 100,000 Lives Lost to Drugs; CDC Finalizes Overdose Fatalities for 2020

The United States just passed a grim milestone, the first time in recorded history when over 100,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in one year. It’s a painful wake-up call, and a call to action that something must be done about the drug addiction...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The U.S. is Losing a City Every Year to Drug and Alcohol Addiction

It may seem unbelievable at first, but the title is no exaggeration. America’s addiction epidemic has become so widespread that the United States now loses the population equivalent of an entire city each year to fatal drug overdoses.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

How the Sackler Family Got Away with Denying Any Responsibility in the Opioid Epidemic

The litigation of Purdue Pharma/the Sacklers is now over. One of the key aspects of the case that deserves full scrutiny is that Purdue’s owners threatened to withdraw settlement funds if they did not achieve personal immunity. In the end, they won.

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Are Drug and Alcohol Addiction Fatalities the Next American Epidemic?

Words and terms like “epidemic,” “pandemic,” and “national health emergency” have become commonplace in American society. These terms often make one think of the dangerous spread of communicable diseases and illnesses. Yet with almost 200,000...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

CDC Guidelines Suggest More Conservative Opioid Prescribing, but Is it Enough?

In the wake of the ongoing opioid addiction and overdose epidemic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention published conservative prescribing guidelines for U.S. doctors to follow. And while there have been some welcome reductions in prescribing...

STATISTICS & TRENDS

Opioid Abuse Surged During the Pandemic – Treatment is the Answer for Those Now Addicted

There is compelling evidence that suggests opioid addiction and overdose rates soared during the Covid-19 pandemic. Was this a direct result of Covid-19? Or was it a continuation of America’s opioid addiction epidemic?

STATISTICS & TRENDS

The Rise of Drugged Driving in America

For decades, the American people have implemented strategies to prevent drunk driving. But more recently, drugged driving, a different but very real threat, has soared. How can we effectively address this new problem?