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U.S. Aims to Reduce Overdose Deaths, But Will the New Plan Work?

The Obama administration announced on Tuesday a new initiative to reduce prescription painkiller misuse and overdose, a problem that has become the leading cause of accidental death in 17 states, surpassing car accidents — and killing more than 28,000 people annually.

Can morphine accelerate the spread of cancer?

Research presented last week at a major cancer research conference suggests that morphine, which is regularly prescribed to cancer patients to treat pain, may actually spur cancer growth. For the past seven years, the notion that opiates might stimulate cancer growth has slowly been gaining attention in the medical research community, beginning with anecdotal evidence [...]