Deaths From Synthetic Opioids Doubled from 2015 to 2016

In 2016, 63,632 people in the US died from a drug overdose, a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has concluded. And many more of those deaths were caused by potent opioids obtained on the streets than in years past.
Experts Aren't Buying Into Trump's Proposed Opioid Plan
Earlier today, Politico provided a preview of what’s believed to be the broad contours of Trump’s grand plan for addressing the opioid crisis. But while some of the details include common sense measures embraced by public health and opioid experts, others are setting their nerves on edge.
San Francisco Takes a Big Step Forward in Dealing With the Crimes of the War on Drugs
Here’s a bit of good news as we recover from our State of the Union-induced hangovers: San Francisco will retroactively expunge thousands of residents’ marijuana convictions from their records, the city’s District Attorney announced Wednesday.
Grand Jury Indicts Baltimore Cop Caught Appearing to Plant Evidence by His Own Body Camera
Welcome to WHAT NOW, a morning round-up of the news/fresh horrors that await you today.
White House Made 24-Year-Old Campaign Staffer Second in Command at Its Anti-Drug Office
When last we checked in on the Donald Trump’s response to the opioid crisis, the news was hardly encouraging: The closest thing to someone at the helm was wildly corrupt New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie and extremely bad liar Kellyanne Conway.
U.S. Government Issues "Do Not Travel" Notice for 5 Mexican States
A curt travel advisory issued Thursday by the U.S. State Department told Americans not to visit five states in Mexico, all coastal areas the U.S. said has seen an uptick in violent gang-related drug crimes. Those states are Sinaloa, Tamaulipas, Michoacán, Guerrero, and Colima.
Be Careful With Your Legal California Weed, Because Border Patrol Has Nothing Better to Do
Come Monday, recreational use of marijuana will be legal in California. Unless, of course, you’re going through one of the eight Border Patrol checkpoints in the Golden State.
Where a Life-Saving Needle Exchange Operates in the Shadow of the Law
Friday night dinner service at the Salvation Army is halfway over and the front window is fogged with the heat coming off the steam trays. A long stretch of mild weather in Iowa City has finally given over to the cold, and people are trickling outside in heavy layers to smoke and shoot the shit. Sarah Ziegenhorn and…
A Pharma Company Raised the Price of a Daily Vitamin by 800 Percent
If you would like to take niacin, a B vitamin that is believed to lower cholesterol and the chance of having a heart attack, you could buy a month’s supply online for about $5. Or you could get a prescription for a bottle of virtually the same pills for almost $300, thanks to a pharmaceutical company using price…
Trump's Stunning New Idea to Stop the Opioid Crisis: Just Say No
Donald Trump appealed to his late brother’s struggle with addiction while declaring the opioid crisis a national public health emergency Thursday afternoon, an issue he plans to tackle in part by employing “really tough, really big advertising,” telling kids in a very serious voice that drugs are “bad,” and allocating…
Trump Is Reportedly Going to Break the Key Promise He Made About Tackling the Opioid Crisis
Welcome to WHAT NOW, a morning round-up of the news/fresh horrors that await you today.
When Hope Runs Out, Cancer Patients Are Making Their Own DIY Immunotherapy Treatments
Every generation has had its breakthrough that promised to, at long last, finally cure cancer, but this time around the chances of actually pulling it off are looking pretty good. Rapid advancement in fields like genetics have led to incredible success using immunotherapies to turn patients’ own bodies into …
Opioids Are Shaving Months Off U.S. Life Expectancy
The United States has an opioid problem. Heroin overdose deaths rates have tripped since 2010 according to one report—and overall opioid overdose death rates have tripled since 2000. It’s not going away.
Why the FDA Can't Fix the Opioid Crisis
Opana was a painkiller twice as strong as Oxycontin. Like most opioids sold in the US it was easy to snort, until one day it wasn’t: Its manufacturers, Endo Pharmaceuticals, rigged it with crush-resistant technology in 2012. Within months the largest HIV outbreak in Indiana’s history was underway—addicts had taken to…
Jeff Sessions Expected to Launch Assault on Recreational Pot
Jeff “good people don’t smoke marijuana” Sessions, Attorney General of the United States, is preparing to launch a new front in the (ineffective) war on drugs.
Trump Wants Holes in the Border Wall to See if Someone Is Throwing Drugs at Your Head
On Wednesday evening, Donald Trump had a chat with the White House press corps on Air Force One as he flew to Paris to meet with French president Emmanuel Macron. During that discussion, he said that his coveted border wall with Mexico must absolutely, positively be see-through.
Philly Is About to Get a Radical District Attorney. How Much Can He Really Change?
Larry Krasner, a civil rights attorney who built his professional reputation defending protesters and suing the police, is almost certainly going to be Philadelphia’s next district attorney. Last month, Krasner beat out six other candidates in the Democratic primary—clobbering his closest opponent by a near 18-point…