Opioid Epidemic

Q&A: A Health Reporter on Challenging Addiction Stigma Through Ethical Journalism

Recovery from addiction is possible. For help, please call the free and confidential treatment referral hotline (1-800-662-HELP) or visit findtreatment.gov. Journalists hold a lot of power in the communities they report, and the choices they make in their reporting can reinforce the stigma that’s already present – whether journalists mean to […]

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‘The Opioid Epidemic and U.S. Culture’: New Book Sheds Light on Expressive Culture and Its Protests of Isolating Language Regarding Addiction

There’s often a disconnect between statistics on opioid use disorders and the real people the numbers represent. That disconnect tends to trickle its way down to the policymakers tasked with enacting change and providing opportunities to those living with a substance use disorder. At least, that’s what Travis Stimeling, associate […]

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Did 780 Million Opioid Pills, Or 421 Pills For Every Resident, Flow Into West Virginia? Basically, Yes.

The opioid epidemic has raged across the United States in recent years, but it has affected West Virginia more severely than most states. In 2018, the most recent year for which data is available, West Virginia ranked second only to Vermont in per capita overdose deaths from heroin and first in deaths from synthetic opioids. […]

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An Opioid Success Story: Efforts To Minimize Painkillers After Surgery Appear To Be Working

The opioid epidemic has been wreaking misery and death across the nation for years. In 2017 alone, opioid overdoses killed more than 47,000 people – 10,000 more deaths than were caused by traffic accidents that year. For many people who abuse opioids, the problem begins with opioid prescriptions from their […]

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