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A group of public health experts and scientists is calling on the Food and Drug Administration to rescind its controversial approval of a DNA test that promises to predict genetic risk of opioid addiction. In a letter sent to the agency on Thursday, 31 experts in genetics, addiction, psychiatry and medical-device regulation called the approval of AvertD a mistake that relied on faulty science and puts patients at risk. The group sent a separate letter to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services urging the agency, which oversees government health insurance programs, to deny coverage for the prescription-only test. (Ovalle, 4/5)

For the first time, methamphetamine and cocaine have surpassed heroin and opioids in illicit drug use involving fentanyl, according to a recent study, and some experts are calling it the “fourth wave” of the opioid epidemic. “It’s become quite problematic,” Dr. Chapman Sledge, chief medical officer for Cumberland Heights substance abuse treatment center in Nashville, said. “I was just sitting down with an 18-year-old kid who’s using like 2 grams of fentanyl and 3 grams of methamphetamine every day.” (Gessner, 4/5)

Relatives of a Vermont woman whose obituary drew national attention for its candid and heart-breaking discussion of her opioid addiction have reached a settlement with some of the parties who were sued for allegedly failing to provide adequate medical care. The family of Madelyn Linsenmeir sued the city of Springfield, Massachusetts, and the Hampden County Sheriff's Department, saying law enforcement officials ignored the 30-year-old mother’s pleas for help before she died of an infected heart valve. (4/7)

Dr. Nora Volkow, who leads the National Institutes of Drug Abuse, would like the public to know things are getting better. Mostly. (Richtel, 4/6)

Matthew David Keirans stole the identity of William Donald Woods after they worked together at a hot-dog stand, at least partly sending Woods to jail. (Rosenzweig-Ziff, 4/6)