WEDNESDAY, Nov. 17, 2021 (HealthDay News) — New government data confirms what many have suspected: The pandemic has prompted a record number of drug overdose deaths, with more than 100,000 Americans succumbing to addiction as COVID-19 raged across the country. That figure is almost 30% higher than the previous year,Continue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week. This was the first public safety alert the DEAContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week. This was the first public safety alert the DEAContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Sept. 29, 2021 (HealthDay News) — People buying pills that look like prescription opioid painkillers or stimulants who are not buying them from a licensed pharmacy may be buying a lethal drug, the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration warned this week. This was the first public safety alert the DEAContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, July 14, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In a finding that demonstrates methamphetamine’s power to destroy the human heart, new research shows hospitalizations for heart failure related to the illicit drug have soared by 585% in California. “Our study results should bring urgent attention to this insidious, yet rapidly growing,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, June 4, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Methamphetamine users are at increased risk for physical and mental health problems as well as other substance use disorders, new research shows. Meth is an illegal and highly addictive stimulant drug that can harm organs such as the heart, lungs, liver and neurologicalContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, April 28, 2021 (HealthDay News) — The Biden administration has eased guidelines for prescribing a crucial addiction treatment drug, just as a new study reveals one in five U.S. pharmacies refuses to dispense the medication, called buprenorphine. “Buprenorphine is a vital, lifesaving medication for people with opioid use disorder,Continue Reading
FRIDAY, April 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Overdose deaths resulting from a dangerous combination of cocaine and opioids are outpacing fatalities linked to cocaine abuse alone, a new U.S. government report warns. “Much of the increase in the rate of drug overdose deaths involving cocaine in recent years is dueContinue Reading
FRIDAY, April 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Illegal drug sales on the dark web are common, hard to detect and are fueling America’s opioid epidemic, a University of Texas study reveals. Opioids include prescription painkillers (such as oxycodone) and illegal drugs (such as heroin and fentanyl). “People are struggling fromContinue Reading
FRIDAY, March 5, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Seizures of illegal drugs fell sharply in the United States during early COVID-19 lockdowns, but spiked once stay-at-home orders eased. Researchers studied seizures of marijuana, cocaine, methamphetamine, heroin and fentanyl in five locations between March 2019 (a year before the pandemic began inContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Feb. 3, 2020 (HealthDay News) — Philadelphia is seeing a surge in overdose fatalities involving heroin and/or fentanyl plus an animal tranquilizer not approved for human use, according to a new study. The tranquilizer — called xylazine — is a non-opioid sedative and painkiller approved by the U.S. FoodContinue Reading
TUESDAY, Feb. 2, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Cannabidiol (CBD) products are seemingly everywhere these days, but they won’t help cure a cocaine addiction, a Canadian study finds. CBD, a chemical in the cannabis plant, has long been touted as a treatment for cocaine addiction. But researchers at the University ofContinue Reading
FRIDAY, Jan. 22, 2021 (HealthDay News) — Deaths from overdoses of methamphetamine are rising across the United States, especially among Blacks and American Indians/Alaska Natives, a new study warns. “While much attention is focused on the opioid crisis, a methamphetamine crisis has been quietly, but actively, gaining steam — particularlyContinue Reading
WEDNESDAY, Jan. 20, 2021 (HealthDay News) — In what may signal a seismic shift in the treatment of methamphetamine addiction, a pair of prescription drugs appears to help patients significantly reduce their stimulant use, or quit altogether. The combination therapy involves an injectable medication called extended-release naltrexone and a dailyContinue Reading