Opioid prescriptions fell 44.4 percent in the last decade, but the number of drug-related overdoses and deaths continued to increase, according to a report from the American Medical Association released Sept. 21. 

A division of the Justice Department filed an appeal Sept. 15 to block Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan, which was approved by a federal bankruptcy judge Sept. 1, NPR reported. 

Opioid related deaths are rising much faster in the Black population than other racial and eithnic groups, a study published Sept. 9 in The American Journal of Public Health found. 

Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan was approved by a federal judge Sept. 1, meaning the company that made and marketed the opioid Oxycontin will be dissolved, The New York Times reported.

The U.S. experienced a spike in benzodiazepine-related overdoses in 2020, particularly in overdoses that involved illicit benzodiazepines such as etizolam and flubromazolam, according to a study released Aug. 26 by the CDC.

The Sackler Family will pull out of Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan, which has been negotiated for two years and pledges $4.5 billion to combat the opioid epidemic, unless they are granted immunity from future opioid lawsuits, David Sackler, former board member, said in court Aug. 17.

Of the more than 4 million opioid prescriptions written for children and young adults under 21 in 2019, 45.6 percent fit high-risk patterns that could increase instances of misuse and overdose, according to a study published in the August 2021 issue of Pediatrics.

The algorithms used by states' prescription monitoring systems sometimes block chronic pain sufferers from receiving opioids after inaccurately flagging them as potential addicts, Wired reported Aug. 11.

Production issues with Pfizer's injectable version of naloxone, a lifesaving overdose reversal drug, has caused a shortage of the drug, affecting healthcare providers across the country, The Boston Globe reported Aug. 2. 

A majority of Purdue Pharma's more than 120,000 creditors have voted to approve the company's bankruptcy plan, The New York Times reported July 27. 

In June, Missouri became the 50th state to establish a statewide prescription drug monitoring program. However, experts are still split over whether such programs effectively decrease opioid-related overdoses, Kaiser Health News reported July 26.

The country's three major drug distributors — McKesson, Cardinal Health and AmerisourceBergen — along with Johnson & Johnson have reached a $26 billion deal with states and local governments that would release the drug companies from all civil liability related to the opioid epidemic, The New York Times reported. 

White patients were prescribed more opioids to treat their pain than Black patients receiving care at the same health system, according to a study published July 22 in the New England Journal of Medicine.

Provisional data shows California had the most fatal overdoses among U.S. states in 2020, according to a ranking Kaiser Family Foundation released July 20.

Two divisions of the U.S. Justice Department have described Purdue Pharma's proposed bankruptcy settlement as flawed and unconstitutional, NPR reported July 19. 

The country's three largest drug distributors and Johnson & Johnson are expected to announce this week a $26 billion settlement to resolve thousands of opioid lawsuits from states, cities and Native American tribes, The New York Times reported July 20. 

To receive proper treatment, patients experiencing drug addiction must overcome two barriers in the U.S. healthcare system: a paucity of treatment resources and high medical costs, reports Kaiser Health News. 

Deaths from drug overdoses hit a record 93,000 in 2020, a nearly 30 percent jump from the prior year, according to a report from the CDC's National Center for Health Statistics.

Rhode Island became the first state to approve harm reduction centers for people to use illegal drugs when Gov. Daniel McKee on July 7 signed into law a proposal to help end the opioid crisis.

Fifteen states that were fighting against Purdue Pharma's bankruptcy plan have abandoned their opposition, NPR reported July 8.