News
Are Drug Companies Responsible for the Opioid Epidemic?
A worried mother places a frantic 911 call to the Cabell County (W.Va.) EMS. She just found her son unconscious in their home. He's turning blue and barely breathing. He is minutes from death. A used needle lies on the floor next to his bed. Too Many Bodies...
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Sports Injuries Leading to Opioid Addiction
Sixteen-year-old Conner Ostrowski was on top of the world. A member of his high school's varsity wrestling team, Conner was looking at a full college scholarship. Then, tragedy struck. In 2012, Conner cracked the base of his spine during a wrestling match. It would...
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Drug Addiction in Rural California Outpaces Metro Areas
California’s pastoral Central Valley is suffering from drug addiction -- at rates that are well above those in the state's major metro areas. And drug availability throughout the valley "rivals the access found in cities such as San Diego, Los Angeles and San...
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Managing Pain Without Opioids
Americans are in a lot of pain. As a nation, we consume far more opioids than any other country on the planet. In fact, we consumer 80% of the global supply. That’s a lot – particularly for a country that comprises only 5% of the world population. And if you include...
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Prescription Drug Advertising: Has It Gone Too Far?
It seems like only yesterday there was no such thing as prescription drug advertising. And now, there's no escaping it. In fact, TV drug ads are so common in the U.S., it's hard to believe that only two countries in the world allow them: the United States and New...
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Safeguarding Prescription Drugs With Medication Lock Boxes
Two-thirds of teens who abuse prescription drugs are getting them from friends and family, according to the Partnership for Drug-Free Kids. Unfortunately, not only has prescription drug abuse reached epidemic proportions, but it has been proven to lead to heroin and...
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Medications: Leading Cause of Poisoning Deaths in Children
The US Poison Control Center receives nearly 1/2 million calls each year because of young children accidentally getting into medicine. "It happened so fast." That's what young mother Billie Lombardo said. Like many parents, Mrs. Lombardo thought her prescription...
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History of Opioids: From the “Joy Plant” to “Just Say No”
For millennia, opioids (natural or synthetic opium-like drugs) have been regarded as the most effective treatment for pain. The earliest reference to opium growth and use is in 3400 B.C., when the poppy plant was cultivated in lower Mesopotamia. The ancient Sumerians...
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Rural Drug Abuse: What’s Going On?
America has a serious rural drug abuse problem. According to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), overdoses from drug abuse in rural areas reached epidemic proportions in 2015. In fact, death rates from overdoses in rural areas now outpace the historically higher...
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