Addiction and treatment

Washington state reaches a nearly $150 million settlement with Johnson & Johnson over opioid crisis

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OLYMPIA, Wash. — The Washington state attorney general announced a $149.5 million settlement Wednesday with drugmaker Johnson & Johnson, more than four years after the state sued the company over its role fueling the opioid addiction crisis. “They knew what the harm was. They did it anyway,” Attorney General Bob Ferguson told reporters Wednesday. The … Read more

With Oregon facing rampant public drug use, lawmakers backpedal on pioneering decriminalization law

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SALEM, Ore. — Democratic lawmakers in Oregon on Tuesday unveiled a sweeping new bill that would undo a key part of the state’s first-in-the-nation drug decriminalization law, a recognition that public opinion has soured on the measure amid rampant public drug use during the fentanyl crisis. The bill would recriminalize the possession of small amounts … Read more

Some New Hampshire residents want better answers from the 2024 candidates on the opioid crisis

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ROCHESTER, N.H. — Kristina Amyot’s life has drastically improved since the last New Hampshire primary, but she isn’t confident the current candidates will help others achieve the same success. Amyot, 36, spent more than half her life struggling with addiction, mainly to heroin, before joining Hope on Haven Hill, a comprehensive program for pregnant women … Read more

Cher is denied an immediate conservatorship over son’s money, but the issue isn’t done

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LOS ANGELES — A judge on Friday declined to immediately put Cher’s son into the legal conservatorship that she is seeking and he is opposing, but the court will take up the issue again within weeks. Los Angeles Superior Court Judge Jessica A. Uzcategui ruled that Cher’s attorneys had not given Elijah Blue Allman and … Read more

Homeless people who died on US streets are increasingly remembered at winter solstice gatherings

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PHOENIX — With his gap-tooth smile, hip-hop routines and volunteer work for a food charity, Roosevelt White III was well known in the downtown Phoenix tent city known as “The Zone.” But like many homeless people, White suffered from diabetes and cardiovascular disease. He died unexpectedly one sweltering September day at age 36. Thousands of … Read more

Holiday togetherness can also mean family fights. But there are ways to try to sidestep the drama

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The holidays, a time where families and friends can get together to talk, to laugh — or get into screaming arguments. There are plenty of reasons togetherness can turn into tension — maybe that cousin you mostly love has that one opinion on politics or world events you just can’t stand, or that one nosy … Read more

Methamphetamine, fentanyl drive record homeless deaths in Portland, Oregon, annual report finds

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PORTLAND, Ore. — Fentanyl and methamphetamine drove a record number of homeless deaths last year in Oregon’s Multnomah County, home to Portland, according to an annual report released by regional officials Wednesday. At least 315 homeless people died in 2022 in the Portland area, the report found. More than half of the fatalities — 123 … Read more