In the shadow of the coronavirus pandemic, New Vision Therapy is still fighting the opioid epidemic. Overdoses are increasing, patients are relapsing, and providers are trying to prevent the death toll from rising in Greensboro. But two patients are already dead. “It’s terrible. These folks were working really hard, but the pandemic, with all of...
Weeks before the start of the federal trial against Purdue Pharma, the company that makes Oxycontin has reached a tentative, comprehensive settlement with attorneys representing thousands of local governments. But for North Carolina, the fight to bring retribution to the owners of Purdue Pharma is far from over. North Carolina is one of more than...
The HOPE Act would allow local police to access without a warrant the medical records of drug suspects. Senate Bill 616 passed the House on Thursday, June 14, and was sent to the governor. The bill would allow local investigators to access the Controlled Substances Reporting System — an online database of patient prescription records...
If the HOPE Act passes the House in its current form and gets signed into law, local police officers will be able to view the medical records of anyone who’s been prescribed a controlled substance. Seen as the “second chapter” of legislation aimed at cracking down on prescription opioids, Senate Bill 616 beefs up...
RALEIGH — It’s time to get aggressive in the fight against opioid addiction, said U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions during a Raleigh presentation on the nationwide opioid crisis. Sessions, the nation’s top law-enforcement officer, is a longstanding crusader in the war on drugs. Now he faces greater conflict with President Trump, who last week announced he...
RALEIGH — It’s now much more difficult to get prescription opioids in North Carolina. The STOP Act, which kicked in Jan. 1, limits the number of pills doctors can give patients. Lawmakers, who cited a hike in opioid-related deaths, passed the bill last year. Under the law, House Bill 243, doctors may give patients five...
Opioid addiction can be fatal, but government policies would probably make a bad situation worse, many experts say. Rising rates of opioid abuse led President Trump recently to declare a national emergency. Critics of the current approach insist state and federal officials continually use misuse the word “epidemic.” Even so, a serious problem exists, and...
RALEIGH — Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper sought common ground during his first State of the State address to the Republican-controlled General Assembly on Monday night. While the governor’s 37-and-a-half-minute speech asked lawmakers for cooperation with his plans to improve education, recruit jobs, fight the opioid crisis, and help those still affected by Hurricane Matthew, Republicans used their...
