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Researchers at the University of Maryland, Baltimore have developed a new drug that promises a possible breakthrough by offering strong pain relief while lowering the risk of addiction. (Wells, 6/24)

About 100 million Americans suffer from chronic pain—more than those living with diabetes, heart disease, and cancer combined, according to the Institute of Medicine. ... The problem with narcotics is that in treating pain they affect an area of the brain that registers intense pleasure. Centrexion’s drugs are designed to target pain directly, without triggering the brain’s reward system. (Koons 6/27)

When Gov. Maggie Hassan and the attorney general’s office recommended changing the guidelines for prescribing opioids this fall, responses from New Hampshire doctors quickly poured in – and they weren’t positive. “I just scanned this quickly, and I may be missing something, but my impression is to throw it out and start all over,” one health provider wrote on an anonymous feedback form. “This is terrible.” (Nilsen, 6/26)