Latest News On Substance Misuse

Latest California Healthline Stories

Rehabilitation Plus Rehab? Jails Dispense Drugs To Treat Inmates’ Addictions

Rather than go cold turkey, inmates increasingly have the option to take medication to help beat addiction to opioids and other substances. But some warn these substitute drugs serve as another crutch — and a costly one at that.

Clinicians Who Learn Of A Patient’s Opioid Death Modestly Cut Back On Prescriptions

A study published Thursday shows that doctors, dentists and other medical providers cut overall opioid dosages by nearly 10 percent after receiving notification of a death from a medical examiner and information on safe prescribing.

Listen: Inexpensive Nerve Drug Often Abused As Opioid Epidemic Grows

Gabapentin, a medication approved to help patients with nerve pain or epilepsy, is being abused by people addicted to opioids to help prolong their high or stave off withdrawal from other drugs. Kaiser Health News reporter Carmen Heredia Rodriguez talks about the problem during a wide-ranging health discussion on the NPR program “On Point.”