DIRS.INFO The most relevant business & tech news

☆ Fate of Billions for Opioid Victims From Sacklers Rests With Supreme Court
▼ + stars: | 2023-12-03 | by ( Jan Hoffman | More About Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +2 min

The speed with which the court scheduled the case may reflect its awareness of the opioid problem. The court, they said, will focus narrowly on the liability shield, an increasingly popular, though contentious, bankruptcy tactic. “I’m sure, though, that even if the opioid crisis doesn’t show up anywhere in the opinion, the court has to be bearing in mind that cities, states and individuals have been desperately waiting for these funds. Though numerous pharmaceutical companies have been sued for their roles in the opioid epidemic, the Sacklers and Purdue loom large in the story of the complex, decades-old crisis. The steep fines did little to deter Purdue from continuing to aggressively market OxyContin.

Persons: ”, Adam Zimmerman, OxyContin Organizations: University of Southern California’s Gould School of Law, Purdue, Food and Drug Administration, Sackler

Kalamazoo, a small city in Western Michigan, is a way station along the drug trafficking corridor between Chicago and Detroit. In its parks, under railroad overpasses and here in the woods, people ensnared by drugs scramble to survive. Dr. Helmstetter, who makes weekly primary care rounds with a program called Street Medicine Kalamazoo, carried medications to reverse overdoses, blunt cravings and ease withdrawal-induced nausea. Rachel, 35, her hair dyed a silvery lavender, ran to greet Dr. Helmstetter. She takes the medicine buprenorphine, which acts to dull her body’s yearning for opioids, but she was not ready to let go of meth.

Persons: Nic Helmstetter, Helmstetter, Rachel Organizations: Medicine Locations: Kalamazoo, Western Michigan, Chicago, Detroit, Medicine Kalamazoo

Narcan, the first opioid overdose reversal medication approved for over-the-counter purchase, is being shipped to drugstore and grocery chains nationwide, its manufacturer said Wednesday. Big-box outlets like Walgreens, CVS, Walmart and Rite Aid said they expected Narcan to be available online and on many store shelves early next week. There were more than 100,000 opioid overdose fatalities in each of the last two years in the United States. Narcan is already a staple for emergency personnel and street outreach teams. Now scientists and health officials are hoping Narcan will eventually become commonplace in public libraries, subways, dorms, corner delis and street vending machines.

Persons: Narcan Organizations: CVS, Walmart, Rite Aid Locations: United States

☆ Opioid Settlement Money Is Being Spent on Police Cars and Overtime
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Jan Hoffman | More About Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

States and local governments are designating millions of dollars for overdose reversal drugs, addiction treatment medication, and wound care vans for people with infections from injecting drugs. But law enforcement departments are receiving opioid settlement money for policing resources like new cruisers, overtime pay for narcotics investigators, phone-hacking equipment, body scanners to detect drugs on inmates and restraint devices. “I have a great deal of ambivalence towards the use of the opioid money for that purpose,” said Chester Cedars, chairman of Louisiana’s advisory opioid task force and president of St. Martin Parish. The state’s directives say only “law enforcement expenditures related to the opioid epidemic,” added Mr. Cedars, a retired prosecutor. “That is wide open as to what that exactly means.”

Persons: ”, Chester Cedars, Martin Parish Organizations: St Locations: Chester, Martin

☆ Should Opioid Settlement Money Be Spent on Law Enforcement?
▼ + stars: | 2023-08-14 | by ( Jan Hoffman | More About Jan Hoffman | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

But though the payments come with stacks of guidance outlining core strategies for drug prevention and addiction treatment, the first wave of awards is setting off heated debates over the best use of the money, including the role that law enforcement should play in grappling with a public health disaster. States and local governments are designating millions of dollars for overdose reversal drugs, addiction treatment medication, and wound care vans for people with infections from injecting drugs. But law enforcement departments are receiving opioid settlement money for policing resources like new cruisers, overtime pay for narcotics investigators, phone-hacking equipment, body scanners to detect drugs on inmates and restraint devices. “I have a great deal of ambivalence towards the use of the opioid money for that purpose,” said Chester Cedars, chairman of Louisiana’s advisory opioid task force and president of St. Martin Parish. The state’s directives say only “law enforcement expenditures related to the opioid epidemic,” added Mr. Cedars, a retired prosecutor.

Persons: ”, Chester Cedars, Martin Parish Organizations: St Locations: Chester, Martin

The settlement involving Purdue, the maker of the prescription painkiller OxyContin, touches on one of the country’s largest public health crises. Experts say the decision may also have important consequences for other cases that use the bankruptcy system to settle claims of mass injuries. Here’s what you need to know about the court’s decision:Why did the Supreme Court decide to weigh in? It’s rare for the Supreme Court to agree to hear a bankruptcy court dispute, experts say, especially one dealing with a settlement agreement in a mass-injury case. Trustee Program, a watchdog office within the Justice Department, that petitioned the Supreme Court to review the deal.

Persons: Sackler Organizations: Supreme, Purdue Pharma, Purdue, U.S ., Justice Department Locations: U.S

For the past two and a half years, Oregon has been trying an unusual experiment to stem soaring rates of addiction and overdose deaths. The aim is to reserve prosecutions for large-scale dealers and address addiction primarily as a public health emergency. But its street population was growing, especially after the anti-police protests that had spread around the country that summer. Since then, Oregon’s overdose rates have only grown. Some politicians and community groups are calling for Measure 110 to be replaced with tough fentanyl possession laws.

Organizations: Oregon voters Locations: Oregon, Portland

Search resuls for: "More About Jan Hoffman"

7 mentions found