Opioid Addiction – TheMinotVoice.com

A Turning Point in the Fentanyl Crisis? Overdose Deaths Drop Nationwide

by: MinotVoice | March 11, 2025

For the first time in years, the U.S. is seeing a sustained and dramatic drop in fatal drug overdoses. New research shows fentanyl-related deaths have declined in all 50 states, with some regions reporting a decrease of over 50%. Experts credit wider naloxone access, changes in drug use habits, and shifts in the street supply.

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

Meet the telehealth company that’s treated treated 20,000 opioid addiction patients

by: Josh Wolsky | February 9, 2023

In a place like North Dakota, where do you turn when there’s no where to turn? When it comes to addiction, rural can be real challenge. The services and resources common in larger populations centers simply don’t exist. But what if you could get help over the phone or an Internet connection? And what if

Read & Share sourced from: Fast Company

Minnesota prisons confront national trend of ‘drug-soaked’ mail filtering behind bars

by: Josh Wolsky | January 15, 2023

What’s the newest way to get drugs into prison? Put a stamp on them and send it. Of course, you’ll have to soak the paper and envelope in liquid narcotics, first. Stephen Montemayor with the Star Tribune has the full story on innovation in evasion that’s got Minnesota corrections officers on their toes. Why does

Read & Share sourced from: Star Tribune

North Dakota judge, others call for stronger efforts to prevent drug overdose

by: Josh Wolsky | January 14, 2023

A long-serving North Dakota judge is speaking out in support of reforming North Dakota’s sentencing policies when it comes to fentanyl dealers. It’s opened up another round of conversation on the havoc the opioid addiction scourge is creating across the state. There were 131 overdose deaths in North Dakota last year. Get the full story

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald

Saskatchewan reaches new record for overdose deaths in 2022

by: Josh Wolsky | January 9, 2023

The opioid addiction scourge knows no borders. It’s worth noting, especially as we seek solutions locally, that we need to look far and wide for those managing this crisis most effectively. It’s also timely as Governor Burgum recently announced how the state will go about using as much as $62 million in resources paid from

Read & Share sourced from: Regina Leader Post

Burgum appoints advisory committee to distribute funds from settlements with opioid manufacturers

by: MinotVoice | January 7, 2023

BISMARCK, N.D. – Gov. Doug Burgum today issued an executive order creating an Opioid Settlement Advisory Committee to receive and distribute funds received under settlement agreements and recommend how they should be used by local governments. The state has entered into 11 settlement agreements with 13 opioid manufacturers and distributors in an effort to hold

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The US is about to make opioid addiction treatment much easier

by: Josh Wolsky | December 22, 2022

When it comes to opioid addiction, the U.S. has a staggering, heartbreaking problem. In 2021, our nation lost 109,000 people to overdoses. For 2022, the forecast is to see that number go down only slightly. To deal with the issue, Congress is expected to get the red tape out of the way. Get the full

Read & Share sourced from: Quartz

The White House unveils a new system to track and better prevent opioid overdoses

by: Josh Wolsky | December 8, 2022

Few, if any, communities in the country have escaped the scourge of opioid addiction. Minot is no exception. And those most impacted have begged and pleaded at all levels of government for more action. Well, the Federal government is stepping up in a role that will serve all communities – filling the data gap so

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

Across the country, cities and states begin battles with corporate pharmaceuticals over opioid crisis

by: Josh Wolsky | May 29, 2019

Through lives lost to overdoses or changed forever due to addiction and numerous cascade effects such as increases in property crime and demand for services, the costs of the opioid epidemic are staggering. And who’s bearing the cost? People, families, and local places are carrying a lot of it. And now they’re using the legal

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

Americans say: hold drug companies responsible for opioid crisis

by: Josh Wolsky | May 13, 2019

Some states have filed lawsuits against the drug companies. And according to a poll conducted by NPR, the majority of Americans are ok with holding those same companies accountable. Get the full story from NPR.

Read & Share sourced from: NPR

U.S. launches four-state study to find ways to reduce opioid overdose deaths

by: Josh Wolsky | April 19, 2019

The opioid addiction epidemic that’s sweeping the country has finally gotten the notable attention of federal government. The response: a $350 million appropriation going to research sites in four states — Kentucky, Massachusetts, New York, and Ohio — with the hopes of developing solutions at the local level.

Read & Share sourced from: Reuters

North Dakota’s first syringe exchange program tackles trust issues

by: Josh Wolsky | February 26, 2018

Among the hard-to-measure longterm costs associated with the nation’s opioid epidemic — the future health care costs of former abusers who’ve contracted a disease through sharing needles. And while controversial, needle exchange programs have been shown to reduce the spread of infection, thereby lowering future healthcare costs and demands. North Dakota’s first program is getting

Read & Share sourced from: Bismarck Tribune

Engulfed in Opioid Deaths, Ohio Turns to Science

by: Josh Wolsky | February 23, 2018

A huge contributor to the opioid epidemic is the over-prescription of pain medication. In other words, a big percentage of those addicted get their start at the doctor’s office. And that fact is driving a number of research-based pain reduction techniques and technologies. The idea: if we have alternative pain treatment methods, we don’t have to

Read & Share sourced from: Scientific American

Drug company billionaire arrested on charges of opioid conspiracy

by: Josh Wolsky | October 27, 2017

When it comes to moving product, it seems some in the pharmaceutical industry are far more concerned with the bottom line than medical ethics and basic human scruples. And when those values combine to bolster sales of a highly addictive opioid-based painkiller, the results are both tragic and criminal.

Read & Share sourced from: Los Angeles Times

Enlisting Educators in the War Against Prescription Drug Abuse

by: Josh Wolsky | October 24, 2017

The opioid epidemic is not unique to Minot; it’s a nationwide problem. And the solutions aren’t simple either. But in the opinion of Tammy Wincup of Everfi, one tool we should be using is an education curriculum that empowers and educates students about the dangers of prescription drugs. It’s worth a read, Everfi may even

Read & Share sourced from: EdSurge

Drug experts see confluence of factors behind opioid crisis

by: Josh Wolsky | August 4, 2017

In Minot, the Mayor’s Committee on Addiction met this week. When it comes to dealing with the effects of the opioid and larger addiction problem, they’re going to divide and hopefully conquer. They’ll be splitting into several sub-committees to deal with different arms of the larger animal. It’s important work, but the method also invites

Read & Share sourced from: Grand Forks Herald