Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
US Drug Overdose Deaths Plunge 10%
For the first time in decades, public health data shows a sudden and hopeful drop in drug overdose deaths across the U.S. "This is exciting," said Dr. Nora Volkow, head of the National Institute On Drug Abuse [NIDA], the federal laboratory charged with studying addiction. "This looks real. This looks very, very real." National surveys compiled by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention already show an unprecedented decline in drug deaths of roughly 10.6 percent. That's a huge reversal from recent years when fatal overdoses regularly increased by double-digit percentages. (Mann, 9/18)
In Baltimore, Black residents tend to be hit the hardest by public health crises, but results from a community survey released Tuesday by Johns Hopkins University show that income level and educational attainment are more powerful than race at predicting whether a Baltimorean has lost someone close to them from a drug overdose. (Roberts, 9/17)
Inside the unbelievable tale of James 鈥淛imbo鈥 Robinson: His family held a funeral, spread his ashes, got memorial tattoos, only to learn he was alive. (Gafni, 9/17)
It was hard enough for Stephanie to get methadone treatment when she moved from Indiana to Florida last year. The nearest clinic, north of Tampa, was almost an hour away, and she needed help with transportation. But at least Stephanie didn't have to worry about affording it. Medicaid in Florida covers methadone, which reduces her opioid cravings and prevents withdrawal symptoms. (Colombini and Krisberg, 9/16)
In 2019, Brandon McDowell was contacted by a sophomore in college who asked to buy Percocet, a prescription painkiller. What the 20-year-old sold her instead were counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opioid that can be lethal in a dose as small as 2 milligrams. Hours later, Alexandra Capelouto, also 20, was dead in her Temecula, California, home. McDowell has been behind bars since 2022 with a fentanyl possession conviction. But the Capeloutos have now won an additional $5.8 million judgment against him for the death of their daughter. (Ding, 9/18)
