opioids news stories on Newser

Most Addicts Get Pills From Pals

Kevin Spak — Tue, 21 Jun 2011 14:35:05 CDT

Looks like Michael Jackson was the exception to the rule. Most painkiller addicts get their pills from family or friends rather than doctors, according to a new study. Just 1 in 5 abusers use their doctor as their primary source for their drugs, and 69% get their drugs exclusively from...

Minorities Denied Potent Painkillers, Study Finds

Colleen Barry — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 04:14:00 CST

Minority patients are less likely than white patients to receive powerful painkillers in hospital emergency rooms, a new study has found. Researchers discovered that 31% of white people in pain were given opioid drugs—narcotic painkillers like morphine and codeine—while Hispanic patients got them 24% of the time and...

Hot Sauce Could Be the New Morphine

Kevin Spak — Tue, 30 Oct 2007 11:09:11 CDT

Doctors think they have a hot lead on an alternative to opioid pain killers like morphine: chili peppers. California-based researchers are dripping what is essentially a sterile version of hot sauce—containing capsaicin, the chemical that gives peppers their bite—directly into open wounds during surgery. Just like biting into...

Ouch—Doc's Trial Highlights Pain Issues

Colleen Barry — Tue, 24 Apr 2007 14:30:08 CDT

The drug-trafficking trial of a Virginia pain specialist demonstrates the slippery slope between treating chronic conditions and enabling addicts. Dr. William Hurwitz's jury heard the story of a patient with deblitating migraines who had been treated with anxiety medication that actually caused headaches—by another doctor who happened to be...