A controversial study suggests anti-overdose med naloxone increases reckless opioid use (CNBC)

Wednesday Mar 14th, 2018

A new study has ignited controversy in the world of drug abuse prevention, applying the economic theory of "moral hazard" to the opioid crisis. "[Doleac and Mukherjee's] study assumes the passage of these laws lead immediately to everyone having easy access to naloxone when they need it, when this is not the case," said Leana Wen, Baltimore's health commissioner.

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The number of Baltimore children with lead poisoning fell 19 percent in 2017, even as more children were tested for exposure to the powerful neurotoxin.

Statewide, the number of Maryland children found to have elevated levels of lead in their blood held steady even as the number of children tested increased by 10 percent, according to a Maryland Department of the Environment report released Tuesday.

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Trump declared an emergency over opioids. A new report finds it led to very little. (Vox)

To much fanfare last year, President Donald Trump ordered his administration to declare a public health emergency over the opioid epidemic. “As Americans, we cannot allow this to continue,” Trump said at the time. “It is time to liberate our communities from this scourge of drug addiction.”

When I’ve asked experts about these approaches, it’s not that any of them are bad. It’s that they fall short. For instance, Leana Wen, the former health commissioner of Baltimore (and soon-to-be president of Planned Parenthood), said that the Support for Patients and Communities Act “is simply tinkering around the edges.”

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