Addiction

The prescription drug monitoring program has led to a 20 percent drop in opioid prescriptions in Pennsylvania, according to the state health department.

The new year is also bringing a new push to pass legislation that would allow Department of Health to declare a "public health emergency."

The opioid crisis in Puerto Rico has not reached the epidemic levels of the U.S. mainland, but officials worry it will catch up soon.

Social workers are warning that a new ban on smoking at Philadelphia drug treatment centers could be deal breaker for those seeking help.

Through Christmas, 286 deaths from suspected overdoses were reported. When final toxicology reports are completed in a few months however, that number could soar to over 400.

Thousands of state and local governments are demanding that companies like Purdue Pharma, Walmart and Rite-Aid compensate them for the costs of the opioid crisis.

The court's main opinion issued Friday says the law's definition of a child doesn't include fetuses or unborn children, and it says victims of perpetrators must be children.

In the midst of an opioid crisis in Philadelphia, the city asks doctors to change how they prescribe pain-killers for after surgery.

Despite progress on some fronts, city officials admit other goals to deal with the opioid crisis in Kensington are taking longer to reach than planned.

Pennsylvania is considering holding more naloxone giveaways after finding even more demand than officials had planned for at a recent event.

The Department of Health's policy directs the use of intravenous doses, not the nasal spray.

Opioid prescriptions have fallen by 28 percent in Pennsylvania from 2013 to 2018, but overdoses and deaths continue to rise.

More than 5,100 kits were made available at 80 health clinics, libraries and public spaces across Pennsylvania.

The new policy was put in place in August when staff and inmates fell ill after drug exposure. Mail now goes to a facility in Florida, and inmates receive a scanned copy.