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Marietta Doctor Sentenced To Eight Years In Prison For Illegally Distributing Opioids
By: WOUB News Team
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COLUMBUS, Ohio – A Marietta doctor was sentenced in U.S. District Court Friday to eight years in prison for illegally prescribing opioids and other controlled substances and defrauding health care programs. A federal jury convicted Roger D. Anderson, 66, last March on one count of conspiring to distribute controlled substances, eight counts of illegal dispensing of… Read More

Purdue Pharma Reaches $8B Opioid Deal With Justice Department Over Oxycontin Sales
By: Brian Naylor | NPR
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Critics say the settlement doesn’t hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of Oxycontin which helped fuel the nation’s opioid epidemic.

Opioid Scandal Haunts Drug Companies As They Respond To Pandemic
By: Brian Mann | NPR
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Thousands of lawsuits that ground to a halt because of COVID-19 are moving forward again as local, state and federal courts reopen around the U.S.

W.Va. Attorneys Seek Names Of Babies Born Exposed To Drugs
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – A group of West Virginia attorneys are asking a judge to force the state to release the names of babies born exposed to drugs as part of the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy case. The Herald-Dispatch reports the lawyers want the names so they can send families a notice of pending litigation and… Read More

Lawyers Seek To Halt Purdue Pharma Political Contributions
By: Associated Press
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STAMFORD, Conn. (AP) — OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma’s creditors want a federal bankruptcy judge to order the company to request permission before making any more political contributions. The issue arose this week after a report that the company gave to political organizations after declaring bankruptcy. Associations representing Democratic and Republican attorneys general and Republican governors have… Read More

Marietta Doctor Convicted of Illegally Prescribing Pain Pills
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – A federal jury has convicted an Ohio doctor accused of illegally distributing medication including pain pills. The government had charged Dr. Roger Anderson of Marietta with providing opioids such as oxycodone and hydrocodone to patients using pre-signed prescriptions and without examining the patients himself. Federal prosecutors also said the 65-year-old Anderson… Read More

$1.25B West Virginia Opioid Settlement Trial Date Set
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — West Virginia communities seeking a $1.25 billion settlement with the opioid industry are set to go on trial against the companies in late August. An Aug. 31 trial date set on Thursday will serve as a deadline for the proposed settlement, which would be a first of its kind deal even… Read More

AG Wants More Time to Get Communities to Join Opioid Settlement Plan
By: Karen Kasler | Statehouse News Bureau
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Friday is the deadline for Ohio communities suing drug makers and distributors to decide to continue with their lawsuits or join the state’s effort to reach what’s likely to be a massive settlement over the opioid crisis. Attorney General Dave Yost said there are several communities that haven’t yet had a chance to meet and discuss the… Read More

W. Va. Plan for Free Transport to Opioid Treatment Starts in March
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – People with opioid use disorder will soon be able to get free public transit to West Virginia treatment centers under a new health department initiative. The West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources said Wednesday the program with the West Virginia Public Transit Association will begin on March 2. The… Read More

Only Half of Ohio’s Rehab Centers Offer this Proven Opioid Addiction Treatment
By: Paige Pfleger | WOSU
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Tammy’s struggle with substance use started with pain pills she found in her grandmother’s cabinet. Then it escalated to heroin. “It’s a full time job,” she says. “Most people think that’s not a full time job but it is. When you’re addicted to anything, then you’re working at it every day. Trying to make sure… Read More

Reports Show Challenges Remain In Addiction Treatment Medication Access
By: Aaron Payne | Ohio Valley ReSource
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Center for Disease Control and Prevention data indicate opioid overdose deaths in the Ohio Valley declined in 2018, the first time in nearly a decade. Researchers say this is cause for optimism. But two new studies warn that access to medication assisted treatment, or MAT, for people with opioid use disorders continues to be a challenge. A Johns… Read More

Life Expectancy Rose Slightly In 2018, As Drug Overdose Deaths Fell
The turnaround is welcome news after rising drug overdose and suicide rates had pushed life expectancy down since 2014. Could America be turning the tide on opioid addiction?

2020 Hindsight: The Ohio Valley’s Decade in Data
By: Becca Schimmel | Ohio Valley ReSource
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The year: 2009. A Senator from Illinois named Barack Obama has just made history upon taking the presidential oath of office. The national economy is at a low point in the Great Recession. And the Pittsburgh Steelers are the first NFL team to win six Super Bowls. Ten years later, as 2019 gives way to… Read More

China Has Pain Pill Addicts Too, But No One’s Counting Them
By: Associated Press
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SHANGHAI (AP) — Officially, China doesn’t have an opioid problem like the United States. But largely out of sight of the government, addicts exist. A government survey taken in 2016 shows just 11,132 cases of medical drug abuse were reported in a population of nearly 1.4 billion. But even the Chinese government admits it doesn’t… Read More


Yost Pitches Constitutional Amendment to Protect Opioid Settlement Money
By: Andy Chow | Statehouse News Bureau
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The Ohio Attorney General’s office has crafted a proposal that would put guardrails around potential opioid lawsuit settlement money to make sure the funds are used specifically for the opioid epidemic. The proposal spells out a constitutional amendment which creates the Ohio Recovery Foundation, made up of a board of directors and a board of… Read More

WATCH: What Newly Released Emails Reveal About OxyContin and its Makers
By: PBS Newshour
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The U.S. opioid epidemic has taken hundreds of thousands of lives. A reckoning for the manufacturers, marketers and distributors of these drugs has now begun — but despite several multibillion dollar settlements, some states and municipalities say accountability and transparency for the companies is lacking. Casey Ross of STAT News joins PBS NewsHour’s Amna Nawaz… Read More

W. Va. Sues Opioid Companies Endo, Mallinckrodt
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia is suing two more opioid makers claiming the companies mispresented the risks of their drugs. Attorney General Patrick Morrisey announced the suits against Endo Health Solutions and Mallinckrodt on Wednesday. The cases were filed in Boone County court and seek monetary penalties. The lawsuits accuse the drugmakers and their… Read More

Symposium on Opioid Crisis Set this Week in West Virginia
By: Associated Press
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ROANOKE, W.Va. (AP) – West Virginia University’s School of Public Health is working with partners across the state on a symposium on the opioid epidemic. Assistant Professor Lindsay Allen says the rate of drug overdose deaths involving opioids doubled between 2010 and 2017. Allen says extra effort is needed to find ways to address the… Read More

Officers Exposed to Suspected Fentanyl During W. Va. Drug Bust
By: Associated Press
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HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (AP) — Authorities in West Virginia say several police officers were exposed to a substance believed to be the powerful opioid fentanyl during a drug bust. Huntington police Chief Hank Dial says in a news release that members of the Huntington Violent Crime and Drug Task Force entered a home on Wednesday and… Read More

Bill Would Require Ohio Pharmacists Be Educated About Naloxone Law
By: Jo Ingles | Statehouse News Bureau
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Ohio law permits pharmacists to give the overdose drug Naloxone without a prescription to people who deal with those with an opioid use disorder. But one state lawmaker says many pharmacists are not doing that. Democratic Sen. Nickie Antonio (D-Lakewood) is sponsoring a bill that would require the State Board of Pharmacy to educate pharmacists about… Read More

W. Va. Physician Gets Probation on Drug Charge
By: Associated Press
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CLARKSBURG, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia physician has been sentenced to probation for writing fraudulent prescriptions so he could get drugs. Chad Poage also was ordered Monday in federal court in Clarksburg to complete 500 hours of community service. Poage admitted writing 30 fraudulent prescriptions between 2015 and 2018. Prosecutors say he obtained a… Read More

Dozens of Collection Sites Set for W.Va. Drug Take Back Event
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — The public can drop off unused, expired or unwanted prescription drugs at more than 110 collection sites across West Virginia this weekend. Law enforcement officials are participating in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s National Drug Take Back Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday. Dropoff locations can be found online . The collection… Read More

J&J Sets Aside $4 Billion for Proposed Opioid Settlement
By: Associated Press
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Johnson & Johnson says it has set aside $4 billion for its share of a proposed multistate agreement to settle opioid litigation, a step that forced it to slash its recently reported financial results. In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing Wednesday, J&J said the charge cuts third-quarter net income from $4.8 billion to $1.8… Read More

Ohio Governor Convenes Talks With Lawyers in Opioid Lawsuits
By: Julie Carr Smyth | AP
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – Ohio Gov. Mike DeWine said Tuesday that he has convened a meeting with the state attorney general and lawyers for cities and counties involved in the national opioid litigation to discuss how millions in settlement dollars might be spent. The Republican governor told The Associated Press he expects about 90 people… Read More
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