The number of people hospitalized because of amphetamine use is skyrocketing in the United States, but the resurgence of the drug largely has been overshadowed by the nation’s intense focus on opioids. Amphetamine-related hospitalizations jumped by about 245 percent from 2008...
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3 Needham Officers Hospitalized For Fentanyl Exposure
Three Needham police officers were hospitalized early Friday for fentanyl exposure while arresting a couple for drug charges. Needham police were routinely surveying the area when they spotted a suspicious vehicle. “We know they were exposed because it was in a...
Opioids Have Sparked An HIV Outbreak In Massachusetts
For many public health experts, Massachusetts’ near-universal health insurance coverage makes it the gold standard for access to care. It’s the last place in the country where you’d expect to find a spike in HIV cases alarming enough to pique the...
In Seattle, scientists have detected opioids in mussels
Add marine wildlife to the growing list of life affected by America’s opioid crisis. For the first time, scientists have detected traces of oxycodone in mussels near Seattle. Biologist Jennifer Lanksbury explained whatever people eat and excrete — including opioids —...
Researchers Say That Drinking a Bottle of Wine Per Week Is as Bad as Smoking 10 Cigarettes
If you think that a glass of while a few nights won’t be bad for your health, if it as equivalent to smoking five to 10 cigarettes. BMC Public Health published a new article about alcohol and tobacco and the study...
What Is Fentanyl?
Fentanyl deaths have skyrocketed to over 1,000% over the last six years, and it’s only getting more worse. The number of fatalities related to the drug held fairly steady between 2011 and 2012, hovering around 1,600 deaths in both those years....
E-cigarette warnings to arrive in high school bathrooms nationwide
The US Food and Drug Administration will stage a massive education campaign aimed at the nearly 10.7 million teens at risk for e-cigarette use and potential addiction, the agency said Tuesday. For the first time, the agency will take the message...
Nearly 30 percent of opioid prescriptions lacked medical reason for use, analysis finds
Nearly 30% of opioids prescribed by doctors failed to show a clinical reason for the patient to take them, a new report found, shedding light on roles doctors might play in America’s opioid epidemic. The analysis inspected data from the National...
Fentanyl crisis: Is China a major source of illegal drugs?
The US believes factory-produced opioids – powerful painkillers increasingly abused by US citizens – are being made in China and sold from there too. One of the main ones is fentanyl – 50 to 100 times stronger than morphine – which...