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In an attempt to stem abuse of OxyContin, Purdue Pharma spent a decade and several hundred million dollars developing a version of the painkiller that was more difficult to snort, smoke or inject. Since those “abuse-deterrent” pills debuted six years ago, misuse of OxyContin has fallen and the company has touted them as proof of its efforts to end the opioid epidemic. (Ryan, 1/10)

Gov. Chris Christie said on Tuesday that he would focus in his final year in office on New Jersey’s drug epidemic, including promising to limit the supply of opioid drugs that doctors could initially prescribe and seeking legislation to require insurers to pay for at least six months of drug treatment. (1/10)

New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie pledged Tuesday to use his final year in office to aggressively combat drug addiction, calling it a crisis that is “ripping the very fabric of our state apart. ”Mr. Christie, a Republican who is entering his final year of his second and final term in office, dedicated the majority of his 73-minute state-of-the-state address to outlining his plan for expanding drug prevention and treatment. (King, 1/10)

At a news conference Tuesday to announce the installation of medication disposal kiosks at Walgreens, several state officials spoke about the opioid epidemic in the shadow of new numbers that show Virginia may have had close to 1,400 deaths by drugs in 2016. (Demeria, 1/10)