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Despite efforts to stem the tide of opioid overdose deaths in Massachusetts, the latest numbers suggest that a record number — some 2,000 people — died of overdoses last year. One of the grassroots groups working to make a dent in this crisis is called Magnolia New Beginnings. It was formed by parents on the North Shore a few years ago to provide support to other parents and to help financially, providing scholarships for long term substance use treatment, which typically is not covered by health insurance. (Mitchell and Becker, 2/22)

They came by the thousands – some from as far away as Cape May, some to wait in lines 100 people deep – seeking the autograph of the man inside a South Philadelphia storefront. The man with the sought-after signature was no movie star, sports phenom, or celebrity, but, rather, a soft-spoken doctor – one who admitted Wednesday that he had turned his substance-abuse clinic into one of the city’s most notorious sources for addicts and drug dealers of highly regulated prescription medications. Federal authorities likened Alan Summers’ now-defunct National Association for Substance Abuse-Prevention and Treatment, near Broad and Wolf Streets, to an open-air drug market. (Roebuck, 2/22)

The Anoka County Sheriff's Office says it'll now offer some inmates addicted to opioids a medication that can lessen cravings and block them from using opioids like heroin or prescription painkillers. The sheriff's office is partnering on the new program with drug manufacturer Alkermes, which makes the medication Vivitrol. (Collins, 2/22)