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An executive order being prepared by the Trump administration would set an ambitious timetable for new recommendations to address the nation’s opioid crisis and appoint top administration officials to oversee the effort, according to a draft obtained by STAT...The panel’s mission would be to identify federal funding streams that could be directed to address the crisis, for everything from medical treatments to long-term support services. The commission would also aim to identify areas in the United States with limited treatment options, review ways to prevent opioid addiction — including possible changes to prescribing practices — and consider changes to the criminal justice system to provide support for incarcerated individuals after their release from prison. (Scott, 3/28)

Democrats and other critics of a draft executive order intended to address opioid abuse are raising concerns that the order is seeking information that is already easily available. The order is circulating on Capitol Hill. (Siddons, 3/28)

An influential Democratic lawmaker has begun a probe into the marketing of opioid drugs, sending letters to Purdue Pharma LP, Johnson & Johnson and other big sellers of the pain medicines for materials detailing sales practices. Sen. Claire McCaskill (D.-Mo.), the top-ranking Democrat on the Senate Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, said she aims to clarify “the challenges industry practices pose to efforts to curb opioid addiction.” (Rockoff, 3/28)

“This epidemic is the direct result of a calculated sales and marketing strategy major opioid manufacturers have allegedly pursued over the past 20 years to expand their market share and increase dependency on powerful — and often deadly — painkillers,” McCaskill, who is the ranking Democrat of the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee, wrote to company executives. “To achieve this goal, manufacturers have reportedly sought, among other techniques, to downplay the risk of addiction to their products and encourage physicians to prescribe opioids for all cases of pain and in high doses.” (Bernstein and Higham, 3/28)

At every school in New Rochelle, just north of the Bronx, in Westchester, there is a locked medicine cabinet in the nurse’s office, stocked with things like EpiPens for allergic reactions, inhalers for asthma, Tylenol for aches and pains. Now, those cabinets also include naloxone, an antidote for people who are overdosing on opioids like heroin. Given as an injection or a nasal spray, naloxone can quickly revive someone who is not breathing. The city keeps it in every nurse’s office, including in its elementary schools. (Harris, 3/29)

Premature deaths among those aged 25-44 were way up in 2015, due in large part to a surge of drug overdoses in suburban areas, a report out Wednesday shows. Drug deaths are also accelerating among 15- to 24-year-olds, but almost three times as many people in this age group died by homicide, suicide or in motor vehicle crashes, according to the new report from the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF). A rural and urban divide, along with racial differences, were also evident in the data. Young white adults in rural areas were more likely to die by suicide or overdose, while homicides by firearms were much more common for young black victims. (O'Donnell, Gluck and Carter, 3/29)

Legislation to address Iowa’s deadly opioid epidemic passed the Iowa House today by a wide margin, but lawmakers turned down a Democratic amendment to make it harder to fraudulently acquire prescription painkillers. The bill will require all doctors to register with the state’s Prescription Drug Monitoring Program. (Russell, 3/28)

More than 5,000 Cuyahoga County residents each year die before they should, often due to gunshot wounds, car accidents and drug overdoses. Of these, more than 1,000 (19 percent) could be avoided if residents here had the same social, economic and health opportunities as those living in Ohio counties with the lowest premature death rates, including neighboring Geauga County. (Zeltner, 3/29)

Opioid addiction is a tough enemy to fight, but public officials are hoping for a growing army of private-sector allies in the battle as a new group seeks to raise $50 million to address the problem. The launch of RIZE Massachusetts drew a mix of business leaders, elected officials, and health care professionals to the Taj Boston hotel on Tuesday morning to rally behind the cause. (Chesto, 3/28)