A Public Health Focus On Coronavirus Shouldn’t Sideline Overdose Prevention Efforts Recent successes in stemming the opioid crisis could be reversed if public health budgets are cut or the crisis is seen as secondary to the pandemic. Jacqueline Goldman, Brandon Marshall
Deaths By Suicide and Overdose Skyrocket in North Carolina Jails A report from an advocacy group says that deaths in the state’s jails have soared— and that 2019 could set a record for suicides. Zachary A. Siegel
‘It Will Certainly Save Lives’: A Q&A About Medicaid Coverage For People Preparing For Re-entry Vaidya Gullapalli
Joe Biden’s ‘Crack House’ Crusade Nearly 20 years ago, Biden urged prosecutors to wield the ‘crack house‘ statute against rave promoters. Now it’s being used to stamp out public health responses to the opioid crisis. Zachary A. Siegel
Inequality, Not Violence, Is Killing Americans At Record Rates Media coverage obsessively focuses on homicides, which are at historical lows. Meanwhile, suicides and overdoses skyrocket, quietly driving record declines in American life expectancy. Jonathan Ben-Menachem
Utah Jail Nurse Faces Negligent Homicide Charge in Death of 21-Year-Old Woman In 2016, Madison Jensen died from opiate withdrawal at the Duchesne County jail. New court filings allege that jail staff, including its nurse, ignored her rapidly deteriorating health. Lauren Gill
Media Frame: Fentanyl Panic Is Worsening the Overdose Crisis Sensational and false news reports about the drug are pushing lawmakers to enact harmful policies. Zachary A. Siegel, Maia Szalavitz
Law Enforcement Is Urged to ‘Think Like a Parent, Not a Prosecutor’ A new DA in Cumberland County, Pennsylvania, is treating the overdose crisis as a criminal matter rather than a community health issue. Joshua Vaughn
State Trooper Said Man Took Bag From Fentanyl Supplier, But Video Demonstrated That The Deal Never Went Down Trooper testimony inconsistent with video and misconduct among state and local law enforcement in New Hampshire and Massachusetts have caused at least 15 drug cases to unravel. Zachary A. Siegel
