National Leaders From 13 States Urge Federal Court To Allow Supervised Injection Sites The Justice Department has mounted a legal challenge to block the effort, claiming such a site violates federal drug laws and would enable opioid users. Bobby Allyn
Health Overdose deaths continue to rise in King County. Here are two big reasons why Kim Malcolm talks with University of Washington researcher Caleb Banta-Green about why drug overdose deaths are increasing in King County. Kim Malcolm Andy Hurst
Health In Midst Of Opioid Crisis, FDA May Block New Addiction Drug From Market A quirk in the law gives an older opioid addiction treatment "orphan drug" status — and a period of exclusive market access. That may prevent some new therapies from reaching patients for years. Alison Kodjak
Health A map to treatment for Washington's opioid epidemic There's a new tool in Washington state to combat the opioid epidemic. Paige Browning
Science How a smartphone app could save the lives of opioid users Kim Malcolm talks with Dr. Jacob Sunshine about the smartphone app "Second Chance." Kim Malcolm Andy Hurst
National Fentanyl Surpasses Heroin As Drug Most Often Involved In Deadly Overdoses When fentanyl, a synthetic opioid 50 to 100 times more powerful than morphine, infiltrated the drug supply in the U.S. it had an immediate, dramatic effect on the overdose rate. Laurel Wamsley
Health Is America Ready For Prescription Heroin? In some countries, doctors prescribe medical-grade heroin to patients with long-term addiction. Could it ever happen the U.S.? A new report from RAND Corporation outlines the pros and cons. Elana Gordon
Health 300 percent spike in HIV infections among straight IV users in Seattle A 300 percent increase in HIV infections among heterosexuals is unusual and concerning, say public health officials in King County. Patricia Murphy
Health 'Finding Fixes' to the opioid crisis with bus passes and other solutions The drugs are not the problem, it’s the pain of living that’s the problem. And pain is driving this opioid epidemic. Brie Ripley Anna Boiko-Weyrauch Kyle Norris
National What's The Evidence That Supervised Drug Injection Sites Save Lives? Proposals in several cities to offer drug users access to a safe space to consume drugs have caused a political stir, but what do we really know about the effectiveness of safe injection sites? NPR Staff
