A California judge on Nov. 1 ruled that four drugmakers cannot be held liable for the state's opioid crisis, according to NPR.

HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra announced Oct. 27 a new overdose prevention strategy that is designed to boost access to care for those with substance use disorders and their families. 

A shortage of Pfizer's lifesaving overdose reversal drug naloxone could precipitate a surge in overdose deaths, North Carolina Health News reported Oct. 22.

Buprenorphine misuse in the U.S. has trended downward over four years, according to a National Institutes of Health study published in JAMA Network Open. 

More than 96,000 Americans died from drug overdoses in the 12-month period ending in March, marking a new record high, ​​according to preliminary CDC data released Oct. 13.

Pharmaceutical giant Johnson & Johnson just signed an agreement[1] with the state of New York in June to settle all of the state’s claims against the company related to the opioid epidemic in exchange for $263 million in funding for addiction treatment and related matters. This crucial development comes after a broader $5 billion settlement[2] between the company and many other states, and J&J’s own decision to stop selling opioids[3] altogether.

Four pharmacy chains are appearing in a federal courtroom in Cleveland on Oct. 4, marking the first time such companies have testified about their role in the country's opioid crisis.

AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health and McKesson said Sept. 28 they will pay a collective $75 million to the Cherokee Nation to settle opioid litigation. 

The Drug Enforcement Administration on Sept. 27 issued its first safety alert in six years, warning about an "alarming increase" in fake prescription pills containing fentanyl and methamphetamine.

Overdose deaths involving methamphetamine nearly tripled between 2015 and 2019 in people ages 18 to 64, according to a study published Sept. 22 in JAMA Psychiatry. 

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.