Opioid

Mexico seeks China's help on fentanyl, complains of 'rude' US pressure

President Lopez Obrador writes to his Chinese counterpart Xi Jinping, urging him to help control shipments of fentanyl while complaining about "rude threats" from US legislators over the drug trade.

Fentanyl is US problem; broken family values behind addiction rise: Mexico

Mexico doesn't produce the synthetic opioid, says President Lopez Obrador, claiming Americans, including single-parent families and parents who kick grown children and elderly out of homes, are turning to fentanyl due to social decay.

Drug overdose deaths show an alarming spike in the US

Drug overdoses soared due to the long cycle of pandemic-induced isolation, killing 93,331 Americans in 2020.

US sues Walmart accusing retailer of helping fuel opioid crisis

US Justice Department says Walmart ignored warning signs from its pharmacists and filled thousands of invalid prescriptions.

Maker of OxyContin agrees to $270M settlement in Oklahoma

It is the first settlement to come out of the recent coast-to-coast wave of nearly 2,000 lawsuits against Purdue Pharma over allegations that they helped create the nation's deadly opioid crisis with aggressive marketing of the powerful painkiller.

New US task force to target opioid makers

The Justice Department says it will support local officials in hundreds of lawsuits against manufacturers and distributors of powerful opioid painkillers that are fueling the drug abuse crisis in the US.

US charges 412 people over $1.3B health fraud schemes

In the midst of an addiction crisis, the US has charged 412 medical professionals for overprescribing opioids.