It’s my sincere hope that Massachusetts will update its standing orders to include this treatment. Our first responders need to have access to all available approved treatments.
Drug Addiction
Posted inDrug Addiction
On Mass. and Cass, a Wu turn
ACCORDING TO THE old adage, a conservative is a liberal who has been mugged. That may not be exactly what’s happening with the shift in the city’s approach to the […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Somerville makes push for mobile drug consumption site
SOMERVILLE is making strides toward being the first city or town in Massachusetts to open a supervised drug consumption site, an initiative that advocates say has shown promise internationally in […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Healey administration grapples with record high opioid deaths
THE STATE WAS already swimming upstream against the opioid epidemic, but new numbers showing record high opioid-related overdose deaths brought an undercurrent of despair to Healey administration discussion of how […]
Posted inOpinion
Let’s rethink the use of Joint Base Cape Cod
THE AIR FORCE’S suspension of intelligence activity performed at Joint Base Cape Cod eliminates the primary service mission of the base. The leak of sensitive intelligence from a service member […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Opioid overdose deaths leveling off, but at high level
AFTER A SHARP SPIKE in opioid-related overdose deaths during the COVID pandemic, the numbers appear to be leveling off this year, but they still remain higher than before COVID hit, […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Innovative court program helps people navigate addiction services
CAPE COD DEFENSE attorney Susan Wenzel had a client with mental health and substance use issues who needed help handling both problems and had no health insurance. His criminal case […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Opioid overdose deaths up by 9 percent last year
THE NUMBER OF OPIOID overdose deaths in Massachusetts rose by 9 percent in 2021, a worrying number in a state that had started seeing some success in addressing the opioid […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Meth use poses rising threat in Massachusetts
THE SCOURGE of opioid addiction has made headlines for years, as state policymakers aim to reduce the epidemic of overdose deaths. Less noticed – but still highly dangerous – is […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Child Advocate says ‘system failed’ Harmony Montgomery
THE DEPARTMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES and the court system valued the rights of Harmony Montgomery’s parents more than Harmony’s wellbeing, according to a damning 101-page report issued Wednesday by […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
For mothers with history of opioid use, a non-judgmental lifeline
ELIZABETH MURDZIA, who stopped using heroin during pregnancy with the help of methadone, remembers rocking her newborn as he underwent methadone withdrawal at Baystate Medical Center in Springfield. Murdzia, 29, […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Mass. receives $525m under opioid settlement
BOSTON UNIVERSITY STATEHOUSE PROGRAM STATE AND LOCAL GOVERNMENTS in Massachusetts will receive $525 million to combat opioid abuse as part of a settlement with four of the nation’s largest drug […]
Posted inOpinion
Opioid overdose deaths remain stubbornly high
IT IS MY HOPE that one day this public health crisis will be nothing but a memory. It has sickened and killed far too many, torn families apart, and weakened […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Misinformation is fueling the overdose crisis
AS THE TOLL from COVID-19 continues to climb, health misinformation has taken an increasingly visible role in stoking this deadly pandemic. Rumors and politicization of masks, vaccines, and other basic […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Removal of Mass. and Cass encampment long overdue
BOSTON MAYOR Michelle Wu’s plan to clear tents from the Mass. and Cass homeless camping site by January 12 is long overdue. If only it had been done earlier, the […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
Bill would let Tompkins hold men solely for substance use treatment
SUFFOLK COUNTY SHERIFF Steven Tompkins could get permission to treat people civilly committed for substance use disorders in the Suffolk County jail, under a bill pending before the Legislature that […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Drug Addiction
A fix for the crisis at Mass. and Cass?
ACTING MAYOR Kim Janey declared last week that Boston will move to dismantle the tent city of homeless people that has grown in the area of Massachusetts Avenue and Melnea […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Key flashpoints in debate over ‘supervised consumption sites’
FOR SEVERAL YEARS, Massachusetts lawmakers have been bandying about the idea of authorizing “supervised consumption sites” – locations where someone could use illicit drugs under medical supervision to prevent fatal overdoses. These sites could offer such services as clean […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
SJC upholds $21m verdict against Phillip Morris
MASSACHUSETTS” HIGHEST COURT on Wednesday upheld a $21 million jury verdict that cigarette company Phillip Morris will have to pay the family of a Lynn man who died from smoking-related […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
The ‘other crisis’ keeps on chugging along
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE PRELIMINARY DEPARTMENT of Public Health data show 1,038 people died of opioid overdoses in the first six months of this year, an estimated 5 percent decrease […]
Posted inCriminal Justice
PrEP must be available behind bars
IN AN EFFORT to reduce HIV transmission, the Biden administration released new guidance in July mandating that medical insurers provide free access to medication that prevents transmission of HIV. Although […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
New opioid settlement could bring $500 million to Massachusetts
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MASSACHUSETTS STANDS TO receive more than $500 million over the next roughly 18 years as part of a massive settlement announced Wednesday that would end investigations […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Sackler family members to pay $4.3b settlement — $90m to Mass.
MEMBERS OF THE Sackler family who own Purdue Pharma will pay $4.3 billion to settle a lawsuit over Purdue’s role in perpetuating the opioid addiction epidemic, a lawsuit first initiated […]
Posted inOpinion
AG could give big lift to supervised drug sites
PATRICK RADDEN KEEFE’S Empire of Pain describes Attorney General Maura Healey’s quest, not just for financial restitution from members of the Oxycontin-promoting Sackler family but also to expose their deep […]