"opioids"

Nearly 250 Alaskans died of drug overdoses last year. Six of every ten drug overdoses in Alaska involved fentanyl.

As more Alaskans seek treatment for opioid use disorder, the state is taking measures to ensure enough medical providers are there to help. 

A trip to the emergency room can be a crucial window to assist people in their recovery. Now some providers are giving patients a medicine to ease the transition so they can seek additional care. Recently, a hospital in Juneau completed one year of this program with encouraging results.

The Alaska Department of Law is suing Mallinckrodt, alleging the opioid manufacturer downplayed the risks of its products while exaggerating the benefits.

Alaska Natives are fatally overdosing from opioids at a higher rate than other groups. Now Alaska Native tribes and health organizations are joining a sprawling federal lawsuit against the prescription drug industry.

Congressional investigators say hundreds of millions of dollars of fentanyl is coming into the U.S. by mail. But lawmakers are finding it hard to stop.

Alaska Attorney General Jahna Lindemuth and 37 other attorneys general wrote Congress urging passage of a bipartisan bill addressing corporate consequences for failing to report suspicious opioid sales.

Opioid overdose deaths among middle-aged black men have increased 245 percent in the past three years in Washington, D.C.

Opioid overdoses increased 30 percent nationwide between 2016 and 2017, with some places showing even more dramatic spikes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.