Opioid Crisis

KUOW Blog

Increasing overdose deaths stress King County morgue

King County is experiencing a grim indicator of how bad the opioid crisis has become — a lack of space to store bodies. Public Health Director Faisal Khan said the Medical Examiner's office has finite space in the coolers they use, and that space is being exceeded on a regular basis.

KUOW Blog

Walmart poised to pay Washington millions for opioid programs

CVS and Walgreens agree to pay $10 billion to settle lawsuits linked to opioid sales

CVS would pay about $5 billion and Walgreens more than $5.5 billion, though neither company has admitted wrongdoing. States have until the end of the year to accept the terms of the settlement.

Drug overdose deaths are at a record high. Here's what the White House plans to do

Harm reduction is one of four policies the Biden administration says must be immediately implemented in order to address the record high number of overdose deaths.

Black Americans are now dying from drug overdoses at a higher rate than whites

New research shows drug overdose deaths continue to surge among Black Americans. For the first time since 1999, Black Americans are dying at a higher rate per capita than white Americans.

Native American tribes reach a tentative opioid settlement with J&J and distributors

Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, McKesson and Cardinal Health will pay $590 million to Native American tribes under a proposed settlement for the companies' role in the opioid crisis.

More than a million Americans have died from overdoses during the opioid epidemic

New research released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention found roughly 932,000 fatal overdoses from 1999-2020. Preliminary data show another 100,000 deaths this year.

A brain circuit linking pain and breathing may offer a path to prevent opioid deaths

Opioids can kill because they reduce breathing along with pain. Now brain scientists have made a discovery that could lead to potent pain drugs that don't affect breathing.