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 communities. I write not about the COVID-19 pandemic – I hope that becomes a memory, too – but of the opioid overdose epidemic that has […]
opioid crisis
Posted inDrug Addiction
Opioid overdose deaths rise during pandemic
DEATHS FROM OPIOID OVERDOSES increased in Massachusetts during the pandemic, after three years of a steady decline. The rise in deaths is an alarming sign and one that experts say is likely indicative of the harmful impacts the pandemic is having on people with substance use disorder. “The way we looked at it is we had […]
Posted inOpinion
Pandemic hasn’t erased the opioid epidemic
HE HAD JUST LOST his father to COVID-19. His dad had succumbed to this relentless disease while living in a long-term care facility. He was just beginning to cope with that loss. Then, it got worse. Two weeks later, he lost his son. His son died after a long-term battle with opioid addiction, stolen by […]
Posted inThe Download
Opioids’ path of destruction in construction
Differences in health patterns among different population groups is a well-established fact. Indeed, it forms the foundation for an entire field of health research, epidemiology, which has contributed enormously to our understanding of the causes of disease. But a new report from the state Department of Public Health documenting the astonishingly high rate of opioid […]
Posted inDrug Addiction
Opioids’ path of destruction in construction
DIFFERENCES IN HEALTH patterns among different population groups is a well-established fact. Indeed, it forms the foundation for an entire field of health research, epidemiology, which has contributed enormously to our understanding of the causes of disease. But a new report from the state Department of Public Health documenting the astonishingly high rate of opioid […]
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 reasoned conclusions to complicated issues. “Lock him up,” shouted about 200 people gathered outside the Ruane Judicial Center, according to this Salem News account. The […]
Posted inThe Download
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 reasoned conclusions to complicated issues. “Lock him up,” shouted about 200 people gathered outside the Ruane Judicial Center, according to this Salem News account. The […]
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 addiction recovery facility on Long Island, when the crumbling 63-year-old bridge to the island was condemned and closed. The island was evacuated, eliminating its 225 […]
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, that is enough to completely fill Gillette Stadium, with an overflow of 2,066 individuals. Here in Massachusetts, we experienced a slight decrease in opioid related […]
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 issue, it would do well to consider a bill recently proposed by Gov. Charlie Baker that would capitalize on technological advances to help address the […]