An Incomplete List of Popular Articles on Opioids Epidemics

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Note: This post is updated regularly to keep this list as up to date as possible. Last updated  May 29, 2018.

Since about a year or so, we have been reading articles on opioids addiction, alarming death rates from opioids overdose and related topics on daily basis in major national newspaper like Washington Posts & New York Times.

Since I have been interested on this topic, I have been reading these articles whenever I come across one from trusted source. For my own purpose and for others interested in this area, I have started to compile of a selective lists of popular news article published in major news outlets like The New York Times, The Washington Post and others.

June 2018

  1. When an Iowa Family Doctor Takes On the Opioid Epidemic. The New York Times: June 23.
  2. Marijuana: The Signature Olfactory Experience of New York. The New York Times: June 21.
  3. First marijuana-derived drug is on the verge of approval. The Washington Post: June 23.

May 018

  1. The Pain Hustlers. The New York times: May 2.
  2. Needle by Needle, a Heroin Crisis Grips California’s Rural North. The New York Times: May 8.
  3. Children of the Opioid Epidemic. The New York Times: May 9.
  4. Treat Addiction Like Cancer. The New York Times OP-ED: May 19.
  5. My Adventures With the Trip Doctors. The New York Times Magazine: May 15.
  6. They Shared Drugs. Someone Died. Does That Make Them Killers? The New York Times Magazine: May 25.
  7. Pot Holes. The Washington Post: May 25.
  8. Origins of an Epidemic: Purdue Pharma Knew Its Opioids Were Widely Abused. The New York Times: May 29.

April 018

  1. Synthetic marijuana leaves two dead and dozens with severe bleeding. The Washington Post: April 3.
  2. As the opioid epidemic rages, the fight against addiction moves to an Ohio courtroom. The Washington Post: April 7.
  3. Homeless deaths surge. Opioids, extreme weather, soaring housing costs contribute to the spike across the country. The Washington Post: April 13.
  4. An Opioid Crisis Foretold. The New York Times, Editorial: April 21.
  5. Opioid deaths prompt Ohio to reimagine classroom lessons, starting with kindergarten. The Washington Post: April 22.

March 018

  1. Justice Dept. urges Congress to rewrite law that handcuffed DEA’s opioid enforcement. The Washington Post: March 2.
  2. Suicides, Drug Addiction and High School Football. The New York Times: March 8.
  3. Quitting Heroin in the Sunshine State – by Colton Wooten. The New York Times: March 23.

February 018

  1. Fentanyl Adds Deadly Kick to Opioid Woes in Britain. The New York Times: February 4.
  2. Drug Industry Wages Opioid Fight Using an Anti-addiction ally. The New York Times: February 8.
  3. OxyContin maker will stop promoting opioids to doctors. The Washington Post: February 10.
  4. At the heart of Canada’s fentanyl crisis, extreme efforts that U.S. cities may follow. The Washington Post: February 11.
  5. Killings in Toronto’s Gay Community Expose ‘an Open Wound’ With Police. The New York Times: February 11.
  6. Meth, the Forgotten Killer, Is Back. And It’s Everywhere. The New York Times: February 13.
  7. How a Police Chief, a Governor and a Sociologist Would Spend $100 Billion to Solve the Opioid Crisis. The New York Times TheUpshot: February 14.
  8. The Myth of What’s Driving the Opioid Crisis. Politico Magazine: February 21.
  9. Guns and Opioids Are American Scourges Fueled by Availability. The New York Times: February 24.
  10. Let Cities Open Safe Injection Sites. The New York Times Editorial: February 24.

January 018

  1. A doctor’s wife threatened to expose the opioid ring he ran, so he killed her, officials said. The Washington Post: January 10.
  2. The Wrong Way to Treat Opioid Addiction. The New York Times: Jan 17.
  3. 1 Son, 4 Overdoses, 6 Hours. The New York Times: Jan 21.
  4. An Addict Dies in a School Restroom. He Was a Teacher. The New York Times: Jan 26.
  5. After Surgery in Germany, I Wanted Vicodin, Not Herbal Tea. The New York Times Sunday Review: Jan 27
  6. A town of 3,200 was flooded with nearly 21 million pain pills as addiction crisis worsened, lawmakers say. The Washington Post: January 31.

December 017

  1. What the opioid epidemic looks like on the screen of a brain scan. The Washington Post: December 1.
  2. The other big drug problem: Older people taking too many pills. The Washington Post: December 9.
  3. States to try new ways of executing prisoners. Their latest idea? Opioids. The Washington Post: December 9.
  4. ‘We feel like our system was hijacked’: DEA agents say a huge opioid case ended in a whimper. The Washington Post: December 17.
  5. In Opioid Battle, Cherokee Want Their Day in Tribal Court. The New York Times: Dec 17.
  6.  56 miles from temptation. The Washington Post: December 21.
  7. With Overdose on Rise, Cities and Counties Look for Someone to Blame. The New York Times: Dec 20.
  8. Opioid Deaths Are Spreading Rapidly Into Black America. The New York Times The UpShot: Dec 22.

November 017

  1. Panel Recommends Opioid Solutions but Puts No Price Tag on Them. The New York Times: Nov 1.
  2. Just Say No to Opioids? Ads Could Actually Make Things Worse. The New York Times: Nov 1.
  3. POLITICO Explain Opioids. Politico Magazine: Nov 1.
  4. I thought we had years to save my sister from addiction. It was already too late. The Washington Post: November 2.
  5. Despite Trump’s Pleas, China’s Online Opioid Bazaar Is Booming. The New York Times: Nov 8.
  6. At the New York division of Fentanyl Inc., a banner year. The Washington Post: November 13.
  7. Counterfeit opioid pills are tricking users — sometimes with lethal results. The Washington Post: November 19.

October 017

  1. As Overdose Deaths Pile Up, a Medical Examiner Quits the Morgue. The New York Times: October 7.
  2. The Bronx’s Quiet, Brutal War With Opioids. The New York Times: October 12.
  3. The drug industry’s triumph over the DEA. The Washington Post: October 15.
  4. Wave of addiction linked to fentanyl worsens as drugs, distribution, evolve. The Washington Post: October 24.
  5. See how deadly street opioids like ‘elephant tranquilizer’ have become. The Washington Post: October 25.
  6. Trump to Declare Opioid Crisis a ‘Public Health Emergency’. The New York Times: October 26.
  7. Trump flubs another promise: Declaring the opioid crisis a ‘national emergency’. The Washington Post: October 26.
  8. The Opioid Crisis: An Epidemic Years in the Making. The New York Times: October 26.
  9. A shocking overdose photo exposed her addiction — and may have saved her life. The Washington Post: October 27.
  10. Even this puppy wasn’t safe from America’s opioid crisis. The Washington Post: October 28.
  11. Opioid epidemic shares chilling similarities with the past. The Denver Post: October 28.
  12. Opioid epidemic shares chilling similarities with the past. The Washington Post: October 28.
  13. The Family That Built an Empire of Pain. The New Yorker. October 30.
  14. Opioids on the Quad. The New York Times: October 30.

September 017

  1. The First Count of Fentanyl Deaths in 2016: Up 540% in Three Years. The New York Times The Upshots: Set 2.
  2. The stunning prevalence of painkiller use among unemployed men. The Washington Post: September 7.
  3. Alternatives to Drugs for Treating Pain. The New York times: September 11.
  4. Amid Opioid Crisis, Insurers Restrict Pricey, Less Addictive Painkillers. The New York times – Heath: September 17.
  5. Why Are Drug Prices So High? We’re Curious, Too. The New York times: September 17.
  6. ‘The Pills Are Everywhere’: How the Opioid Crisis Claims Its Youngest Victims. The New York times: September 20.
  7. How to Win a War on Drugs. The New York times, Opinion: September 22.
  8. ‘The greatest drug fiends in the world’: An American opioid crisis — in 1908. The Washington Post: September 29.
  9. America’s 8-Step Program for Opioid Addiction. The New York times, Editorial: September 30.

August 017

  1. On the Front Lines of Ohio’ Heroin Crisis: Playwrights. The New York times Magazine: August 4.
  2. Opioid Users Are Filling Jails. Why Don’t Jails Treat Them? The New York times Magazine: August 4.
  3. Deaths from drug overdoses soared in the first nine months of 2016. The Washington Post: August 8.
  4. Nashville’s grieving mayor faces ‘new normal’ after her son died of a drug overdose. The Washington Post: August 8.
  5. With drug overdoses soaring, states limit the length of painkiller prescriptions. The Washington Post: August 9.
  6. Selling opioids in this rural Maryland county could get you a murder charge. The Washington Post: August 9.
  7. Trump declares opioid crisis is a national emergency, pledges more money and attention. The Washington Post: August 10.
  8. Big Tobacco’s new cigarette is sleek, smokeless — but is it actually healthier?. The Washington Post: August 11.
  9. Can marijuana rescue coal country?. The Washington Post: August 10.
  10. Fentanyl linked to thousands of urban overdose deaths. The Washington Post: August 15.
  11. The Real Opioid Emergency. The New York times: Aug 18.

July 017

  1. The opioid crisis is straining the nation’s foster-care systems. The Washington Post: July 1.
  2. The Heroin Crisis in Trump’s Backyard. Politico Magazine: July 4.
  3. Drugmakers and distributors face barrage of lawsuits over opioid epidemic. The Washington Post: July 4.
  4. Opioid prescriptions dropped for the first time in the modern drug crisis. The Washington Post: July 6.
  5. Opioid Prescriptions Fell Over 5 Years, but but Still Higher Than in 1999. The New York times: July 6.
  6. A drug company tried to make opioids harder to abuse. It backfired. The Washington Post: July 10.
  7. A Small-Town Police Officer’s War on Drugs. The New York times Magazine: July 12.
  8. DOJ announces charges against 400 people for $1.3 billion in health-care fraud. The Washington Post: July 13.
  9. A Tide of Opioid-Dependent Newborns Forces Doctors to Rethink Treatment. The New York times: July 13.
  10. The Lawyer, the Addict. The New York times: July 15.
  11. As opioid overdoses exact a higher price, communities ponder who should be saved. The Washington Post: July 15.
  12. 3 Books Take a Deeper Look at the Opioid Epidemic. The New York times: July 13.
  13. 10-year-old dies with heroin and fentanyl in his system, Fla. state attorney says. The Washington Post: July 18.
  14. On Reddit, Intimate Glimpses of Addicts in Thrall to Opioids. The New York times: July 20.
  15. New Tactic in War on Opioids: Charging Dealers in Overdose Deaths. The New York times: July 23.
  16. White House opioid commission to Trump: “Declare a national emergency” on drug overdoses. The Washington Post: July 31.
  17. White House Panel Recommends Declaring National Emergency on Opioids. The New York times: July 31.

June 017

  1. A 1980 Letter on the Risk of Opioid Addiction. The New England J. Medicine: June 1.
  2. The One-Paragraph Letter From 1980 That Fueled the Opioid Crisis. The Atlantic: June 1.
  3. Are Pharmaceutical Companies to Blame for the Opioid Epidemic? The Atlantic: June 2.
  4. Drug Deaths in America Are Rising Faster Than Ever. The New York times, TheUpshot: June 5.
  5. They look like prescription drugs, but they’re actually deadly poison, Georgia authorities say. The Washington Post: June 7.
  6. FDA seeks removal of opioid painkiller from the market. The Washington Post: June 8.
  7. Opioids, alcohol, other drugs killed more Marylanders in 2016 than ever before. The Washington Post: June 8.
  8. The drug crisis is now pushing up death rates for almost all groups of Americans. The Washington Post: June 9.
  9. Sharp rise in African American opioid overdoses has Cleveland officials worried. The Washington Post: June 9.
  10. Opioid Dealers Embrace the ‘Dark Web’ to Send Deadly Drugs by Mail. The New York times, DealBook: June 10.
  11. What the rise in overdose deaths looks like relative to other causes. The Washington Post: June 10.
  12. Seizing on Opioid Crisis, a Drug Maker Lobbies Hard for Its Product. The New York times: June 11.
  13. When Opioid Addicts Find an Ally in Blue. The New York times: June 12.
  14. Heroin Use? Juvenile Record? For Recruits, Police Forgive Past Sins. The New York times: June 12.
  15. America’s new tobacco crisis: The rich stopped smoking, the poor didn’t. The Washington Post: June 13.
  16. Addicts Need Help. Jails Could Have the Answer. The New York times, Sunday Review: June 16.
  17. Opium use booms in Afghanistan, creating a ‘silent tsunami’ of addicted women. The Washington Post: June 19.
  18. In just one year, nearly 1.3 million Americans needed hospital care for opioid-related issues. The Washington Post: June 20.
  19. A doctor prescribed so many painkillers, she’s been charged with murdering her patients, authorities say. The Washington Post: June 24.
  20. Greater opioid use and mental health disorders are linked in a new study. The Washington Post: June 26.
  21. What Cookies and Meth Have in Common. The New York times: June 30.

May 017

  1. A Public Overdose. An Antidote at Hand. Would Passers-By Use It?. The New York Times: May 9.
  2. The Addicts Next Door. The New Yorker: May 30.
April 017
  1. The government’s struggle to hold opioid manufacturers accountable. The Washington Post: April 2.
  2. When heroin kills, the appeal grows — and policing the drug becomes harder. The Washington Post: April 4.
  3. Overcoming Opioids: The quest for less addictive drugs. The Washington Post: April 17.
March 017
  1. Drugs are killing so many people in West Virginia that the state can’t keep up with the funerals. The Washington Post: March 7.
  2. Surgeons were told to stop prescribing so many painkillers. The results were remarkable. The Washington Post: March 7.
  3. Opioid distributors sued by West Virginia counties hit by drug crisis. The Washington Post: March 9.
  4. 2 of a Farmer’s 3 Children Overdosed. What of the Third — and the Land?. The New York times: March 12.
  5. As opioid overdoses rise, police officers become counselors, doctors and social workers. The Washington Post: March 12.
  6. Americans use far more opioids than anyone else in the world. The Washington Post: March 15.
  7. As opioid crisis intensifies, one Md. school system looks at a ‘recovery’ school. The Washington Post: March 19.
  8. The disease killing white Americans goes way deeper than opioids. The Washington Post: March 24.
  9. In School Nurse’s Room: Tylenol, Bandages and an Antidote to Heroin. The New York times: March 29.
  10. The Changing Face of Heroin Use in the United States.A Retrospective Analysis of the Past 50 Years. JAMA Psychiatry. 2014;71(7):821-826.
  11. Who is to blame for the opioid epidemic?. The Washington Post Opinion: March 29.
  12. In 2005, opioid deaths outnumbered murders in 27 states. In 2014, the number was 45. The Washington Post: March 30.
February 017
  1. Florida heroin bust reveals something bizarre: Drugs covered in Donald Trump’s face. The Washington Post: Feb 4.
  2. The opioid epidemic could turn into a pandemic if we’re not careful. The Washington Posts: Feb 9.
  3. The doctor you see in the ER may put you on a path toward long-term opioid use. The Washington Post: Feb 15.
  4. Why Trump’s Wall Won’t Keep Out Heroin. The New York Times: Feb 16.
  5. When Retirement Comes With a Daily Dose of Cannabis. The New York Times: Feb 19.
  6. Ohio parents arrested after 8-year-old son overdosed on heroin, police say. The Washington Post: Feb 20.
  7. A Balm When You’re Expecting: Sometimes Pot Does the Trick. The New York Times: Feb 20.
  8. Drug Overdose Deaths in the United States, 1999–2015. CDC (Center for Disease Control & Prevention): Feb 2017.
January 2017
  1. Inside a Killer Drug Epidemic: A Look at America’s Opioid Crisis – By The New York Times: Jan 6.
  2. Wilkes-Barre Faces Heroin Scourge Turning It Into ‘the Most Unhappy Place in America’. NBC News: Jan 9.
  3. The Increasing Use of Cannabis Among Older Americans: A Public Health Crisis or Viable Policy Alternative?. The Gerentologist. Jan 11.
  4. Young Victims of the Opioid Epidemic. The New York Times Editorial Board: Jan 16.
  5. Doctors prescribed me pain meds but couldn’t help me get off them. The Washington Post: Jan  22.
December 2016
  1. Drug Overdose Deaths Increased Significantly in Past 5 Years. The New York Times: Dec 17
  2. Where opiates killed the most people in 2015. The Washington Post : Dec 13.
  3. An opioid epidemic is what happens when pain is treated only with pill. The Washington Post: Dec 23.
  4. A young couple died of overdose, police say. Their baby died of starvation days later. The Washington Post: Dec 25.
  5. Woman overdoses in a gas station bathroom with a crying 4-year-old nearby, police say. The Washington Post Dec: 6.
  6. Orphaned by America’s opioid epidemic. The Washington Post: Dec 17.
  7. Fentanyl Outpaces Heroin as the Deadliest Drug on Long Island. The New York Times: Dec 28.
  8. No longer ‘Mayberry’: A small Ohio city fights an epidemic of self-destruction. The Washington Post: Dec 30.
  9. Six facts about dying young. The Washington Post: Dec 29.
  10. An addiction crisis along ‘the backbone of America’. The Washington Post: Dec 30.
  11. New data show continuing opioid epidemic in the United States. CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention): Dec 2016
  12. Heroin deaths surpass gun homicides for the first time, CDC data shows. The Washington Post: Dec 8.
July 2016
  1. A Story of Truth, Lies & American Addition. The Washington Post: July 23.
August 2016
  1. Finding Good Pain Treatment Is Hard. If You’re Not White, It’s Even Harder. The New York Times: August 9.
June 2016
  1. Prescription Drug Abuse Among Older Adults Is Harder to Detect. The New York Times: June 11.
  2. The Lonely road of Staying Clean. The Washington Post: June 11.
April 2016
  1. A New Divide in American Death. The Washington Post: April: 10.
February 016
  1. When Addiction Has a White Face. The New York Times: Feb 9.
January 2016
  1. How the Epidemic of Drug Overdose Deaths Rippled Across America. The New York Times: Jan 19.
April 2015
  1. Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic. Sam Quinones : Bloomsbury Press; F First Edition edition (April 21, 2015).