Public support for legalizing marijuana has never been higher, but the latest studies show recreational use is linked with …
painkillers
Study: Painkillers After a Heart Attack May Be Risky
People who have survived a heart attack may want to reconsider taking painkillers known as NSAIDs, says a recent study published in the American Heart Association journal Circulation.
Could an Addiction-Proof Painkiller Finally Be on the Horizon?
New research on a drug that boosts the pain-relieving effect of opioids, while cutting their addictiveness, hints tantalizingly at non-addictive treatment options for pain patients
The Prescription Painkiller Experience: Less than a Third Say They Like It
Many people fear that mere exposure to prescription painkillers like Vicodin or OxyContin will set them down the road to addiction. But new research on the response to opioid medication suggests that most people don’t …
Methadone: A Major Driver of Prescription Painkiller Overdose Deaths
Methadone accounts for nearly 1 in 3 prescription painkiller overdose deaths in the U.S., even though only 2% of prescriptions for opioid painkillers are for this drug, according to a new report by the Centers for Disease Control …
Number of Babies Born Suffering from Drug Withdrawal Triples
The rate of babies born to mothers who use prescription painkillers during pregnancy has risen sharply over the last decade. Though the long-term effects of such drug exposure are uncertain, true harm can come of labeling these …
Champion of Pain Relief, Siobhan Reynolds Dead in Plane Crash
The pain community loses a pioneering activist
Are Doctors Really to Blame for the Overdose Epidemic?
Forty people die each day from what Dr. Thomas Frieden, the director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), calls an “epidemic” of prescription drug overdose. Frieden largely attributes the rise in overdose …
Most Teens Taking Prescription Drugs Do It Right
Most students taking prescription medications for pain, sleep, anxiety or attention deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) do not misuse the drugs, a new study finds. And proper use of these medications was not associated with a …
Report: Chronic, Undertreated Pain Affects 116 Million Americans
Serious, chronic pain affects at least 116 million Americans each year, many of whom are inadequately treated by the health-care system, according to a new report by the Institute of Medicine (IOM). The report offers a blueprint …
Study: Most Addicts Get Painkillers from Friends or Family, Not Doctors
Only 1 in 5 people who misuse opioid painkillers like Vicodin get their drugs exclusively from doctors, and 69% never obtain any of these drugs from medical sources, according to a recent study published in the Archives of …
Does the ADHD Drug Shortage Herald a Crackdown on Stimulants?
With the Obama administration characterizing prescription drug misuse as this generation’s crack epidemic, something like this seemed fated to happen: patients, pharmacists and manufacturers are reporting a serious shortage of …
