It’s an approach that research evidence and many in recovery say makes sense — but one that some advocates say has it all wrong. One of the most effective ways […]
Drugs
Posted inDrug Addiction
Withholding methadone from inmates is wrong
I WILL NEVER forget the pained look on my patient Jorge’s face when I asked him why he stopped taking methadone to treat his opioid dependency. He was in my […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Health Care
Recovery coaches could be game changers on opioid addiction
IN 2017, five people died each day from opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts. That’s nearly 2,000 families who lost a loved one. The opioid epidemic is one of the most serious […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Judging the judge
A protest last week outside a Salem courthouse featured a refrain made familiar by the scholarly legal eagles who regularly populate the president’s rally, where they apply only the most […]
Posted inOpinion
A bridge to opportunity
IN 2014, THE OPIOID crisis passed two critical local milestones: Massachusetts’ fatal opioid overdose rate rose to more than double the national average; and the city of Boston lost an […]
Posted inOpinion
What’s Walsh’s real end game?
MARTY WALSH DID NOT BECOME the mayor of the City of Boston by being a stupid man. When anyone – anyone – looks at the cost-benefit analysis of rebuilding the Long Island […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Involuntary commitment of drug users wrong approach
MASSACHUSETTS IS AIMING to tackle the opioid crisis head on. On Friday, the Joint House and Senate committee dealing with substance abuse is set to move forward on major legislation […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Walsh takes concrete step to rebuild Long Island Bridge
BOSTON OFFICIALS SAY they intend to go full speed ahead with rebuilding Long Island Bridge as a path to an addiction recovery center on the harbor island and claim their […]
Posted inOpinion
Taxpayers clean up Big Pharma’s mess
LAST YEAR, the United States saw a 13 percent increase in drug overdose deaths, from an estimated 60,147 lives lost in 2016, to an estimated 67,944 in 2017. For perspective, […]
Posted inOpinion
How we end the opioid epidemic
IT’S DIFFICULT TO WATCH OR READ the news without seeing another family torn apart by the opioid crisis. The epidemic is so widespread that it’s been declared a national public […]
Posted inOpinion
Electronic opioid scripts save lives
A HEARING EARLIER this month on Beacon Hill underscored the critical need for Massachusetts-specific solutions to the nation’s opioid crisis. As the Legislature prepares next steps to address this critical […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Treating addiction as a chronic illness
You’ve shaped drug policy at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, at the White House, and now as executive director of the Grayken Center at Boston Medical Center. But it […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Big Tobacco’s mea culpa ad campaign
Big Tobacco is launching a major ad campaign this Sunday in which it acknowledges the deadly nature of smoking and the industry’s role in concealing the danger of cigarettes from […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Addressing inmate addiction must be a priority
THE CRIMINAL JUSTICE BILLS recently passed by the Massachusetts Senate and released by the House Committee on Ways and Means provide sensible reform to failed criminal justice approaches, including doing […]
Posted inOpinion
Public health emergency rings hollow
PRESIDENT TRUMP’S ANNOUNCEMENT that the opioid epidemic is a public health emergency certainly drew attention to the problem, but in reality it is an empty declaration that, at least as […]
Posted inOpinion
Colleges can’t be bystanders on opioids
THE OPIOID CRISIS, rooted in the overprescribing of painkillers, has seized the attention of public officials from Beacon Hill to Capitol Hill. So, too, has the inadequacy of mental health […]
Posted inOpinion
Drugs are best treatment for opioid abuse
THE OPIOID ADDICTION crisis in the United States has prompted leaders at the state and federal level to promise more money, new laws, and greater focus on the problem. That […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Clark takes on Purdue’s opioid marketing
LATE LAST YEAR, an article in the Los Angeles Times caught the eye of US Rep. Katherine Clark of Melrose. The article alleged that Connecticut-based Purdue Pharma, the maker of […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Many newborns facing opioid withdrawal
ON THE SECOND FLOOR of the Tufts New England Medical Center is a room with no light and no sound but for the high-pitched screams of babies. Nurse Christine Lavoie […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Dempsey pitches higher pot tax
THE HOUSE’S TOP BUDGET OFFICIAL on Friday made a pitch for a higher tax rate on recreational marijuana during a press conference unveiling the Legislature’s fiscal 2018 budget proposal. Rep. […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Opinion
With mixed record on opioids, Baker joining task force
GOV. CHARLIE BAKER IS JOINING a White House task force on opioids, to be chaired by fellow governor Chris Christie, whom Baker endorsed in the Republican presidential primaries. Baker is […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service, The Download
Pushing the addiction-as-disease envelope
Two assumptions have have come to define discussion of the opioid crisis in the country: 1) It is not a partisan issue, and 2) we need to approach it as […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, Drug Addiction, Opinion
Sununu, Rivera vow to work together on drugs
Gov. Chris Sununu of New Hampshire and Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera talked by phone on Thursday after Sununu had claimed that most of the drugs flowing into the Granite State […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Opioid deaths continued to climb in 2016
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE NUMBER OF PEOPLE DYING from opioid overdoses in Massachusetts each year continues to climb, according to a new state report projecting an estimated increase of […]
