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Emergency departments, in particular, feel a heavy responsibility to take action: Collectively, they’re one of the top prescribers of opioids nationwide, behind family and internal medicine practices. And so, this month in eastern Mississippi, Baptist Memorial Hospital-Golden Triangle began limiting opioid pain medication only to patients in the most acute pain. St. Joseph’s Regional Medical Center in New Jersey, which has one of the nation’s biggest emergency departments, is pushing to replace opioids whenever possible with less addictive treatments, like nerve blocks to dull pain. The center has even hired a harpist to fill the noisy halls with calmer notes. (Blau, 1/23)

When did our nation’s opioid crisis begin? Pretty much as soon as a German pharmacist isolated morphine from opium in 1805. Within the century, “addiction among soldiers was reportedly prevalent enough to earn the moniker, ‘the soldier’s disease,’ ” writes Jon Kelvey on Smithsonian.com. But after more than 200 years of increased dependency and deaths, his article declares that “America’s Long-Overdue Opioid Revolution Is Finally Here.” Here’s the tantalizing prospect of the piece: New compounds may provide patients with opioid-level pain relief without the awful side effects. (Hallett, 1/22)

New Jersey Attorney General Chris Porrino is using emergency powers to impose some of the toughest restrictions in the United States on painkiller prescriptions, part of an aggressive campaign against drug addiction outlined by Gov. Chris Christie that could also include an investigation into relationships between doctors and drug manufacturers. In a letter to the Board of Medical Examiners last week, Porrino cited his emergency powers and said he would amend several state regulations on the practice of medicine to prevent "the tragic consequences of the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic." (Rizzo, 1/22)

Catholic Medical Center in Manchester is your typical general hospital: they deliver babies, set broken bones, perform heart surgery. And it might be as good a place as any to witness how the opioid epidemic is transforming healthcare in New Hampshire. As the opioids have taken a grip on the state, hospitals have been inundated with patients suffering from addiction. Not all those patients land in a hospital because of an overdose. They’re being treated everywhere – from the nursery to the operating room. (Rodolico, 1/20)

For over a year, the New Hampshire Attorney General’s office has been trying to determine whether drug makers break the law in how they marketed opioid painkillers in the state. It’s a slow legal battle that could determine that pharmaceutical companies knew they were putting people at risk by overselling highly addictive painkillers. Many of those painkillers were abused – leading to an addiction and overdose epidemic. (Rodolico, 1/20)