Brian Mann

Researchers and doctors say they know how to curb harm caused by addiction and the spread of dangerous drugs. But lawmakers are reluctant to allow needle exchanges and access to safer narcotics.

President Nixon called for an "all-out offensive" against drugs and addiction. The U.S. is now rethinking policies that led to mass incarceration and shattered families while drug deaths kept rising.

A federal bankruptcy judge cleared plans for a final vote by Purdue Pharma's creditors that would release members of the Sackler family and their financial empire from liability for the opioid crisis.

A bankruptcy judge cleared a plan for final vote by creditors of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, that would release the Sacklers and their financial empire from liability for the opioid crisis.

Drug distributors have faced embarrassing revelations about their internal practices. One email shared by corporate executives described rural Americans addicted to opioids as "pillbillies."

Drug distributors are in court in West Virginia over their role in the state's opioid crisis. Documents spotlight revelations — including internal communications that mocked people with addiction.

A diplomatic row has frozen U.S.-Mexican efforts to target drug cartels. American officials say illicit fentanyl from labs in Mexico is driving a surge in overdose deaths.

Under a bankruptcy procedure prohibited by courts in part of the country, the Sacklers could be sheltered from opioid lawsuits even without declaring bankruptcy. Some states are crying foul.

With the deadly opioid fentanyl pushing overdose deaths to record levels, federal officials hope buprenorphine will save lives in parts of the country where the drug is rarely prescribed.

The Biden administration is working on new federal guidelines that will make it easier for Americans experiencing opioid addiction to get more effective medical treatment.