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As drug overdose deaths reached record levels in the United States, evidence-based treatments for substance use remained significantly underutilized, a new study found. The vast majority of drug overdose deaths involve opioids, and rates have surged in recent years. In 2021, more than 80,000 people died from a drug overdose involving opioids, according to data from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But only about a third of adults with opioid use disorder received any type of treatment for substance use, and only about 1 in 5 received medication to treat opioid use disorder, according to the new study by researchers at the National Institute on Drug Abuse and the National Center for Injury Prevention. (McPhillips, 8/7)

Imagine if during a deadly public health crisis, 80% of Americans weren't able to get safe, effective medications proven to help people recover. A study published Monday in the JAMA found that's exactly what's happening with the opioid crisis. Nationwide, only one in five people with opioid use disorder receive the medications considered the gold standard for opioid treatment, such as methadone, buprenorphine or extended-release naltrexone. (Mann, 8/7)

Black patients and women in the US are far less likely to receive medication to manage opioid abuse, according to research that shows how unequal access is to the life-saving treatments. White adults were 14 times more likely to receive medicine to combat opioid use disorder than Black adults, according to research released Monday in the JAMA Network Open medical journal. Meanwhile, men had six times the likelihood as women of getting access to drugs such as buprenorphine. (Jones and Griffin, 8/7)

Oxycontin maker Purdue Pharma on Friday asked the U.S. Supreme Court to reject the U.S. Department of Justice's request to delay its multi-billion-dollar bankruptcy settlement resolving thousands of lawsuits against it over the opioid epidemic. (Knauth, 8/7)