"treatment"

The amount is determined by the severity of the local problem and the strategies each community has to respond to it.

Medication-assisted treatment uses one of several drugs approved by the Food and Drug Administration to control cravings and reduce relapses. Despite the evidence, the approach is underused.

Nationwide, the number of pregnant women using heroin, prescription opioids or medications used to treat opioid addiction has increased more than five-fold and it’s expected to keep rising.

In the first two weeks after a drug user is released from jail, the risk of a fatal overdose is much higher than at any other time in his addiction. After months or years in confinement, theoretically without access to illicit drugs, an addict’s tolerance for drugs is low but his craving to get high can be as strong as ever.

Prescription painkiller abuse is drawing national attention as states battle increasing abuse cases, presidential candidates offer possible solutions and even President Barack Obama includes the issue in his State of the Union address Tuesday night.

Afraid of saying the wrong thing to someone with a serious illness? Now there are “empathy cards” that make fun of those well-meaning but tasteless remarks.