Methods: We performed an extensive literature search in Google Scholar and Pub Med
databases that were published between December 7, 1999 and January 9, 2018 in …

Opioid abuse among pregnant women has reached epidemic proportions and has
influenced maternal and child health policy at the federal, state, and local levels. As a result …

The US mortality rate has gone up three years in a row from 2014 to 2017 (Xu, Murphy,
Kochanek, & Arias, 2016; Murphy, Xu, Kochanek, & Arias, 2018; Kochanek, Murphy, Xu, & …

This qualitative study documents the pathways to injecting heroin by users in Philadelphia
and San Francisco before and during a pharmaceutical opioid pill epidemic. Data was …

Background The introduction of illicitly made fentanyl in the United States has slowly
replaced heroin. New illicit drugs are often associated with changes in frequency and modes …

Background and Purpose Fentanyl overdose deaths have reached “epidemic” levels in
North America. Death in opioid overdose invariably results from respiratory depression. In …

BACKGROUND: Prescription opioids are the most frequently misused class of prescription
drugs amongst young adults. Initiation into prescription opioid misuse is an important public …

Background Illicitly manufactured fentanyl and its analogues are appearing in countries
throughout the world, often disguised as heroin or counterfeit prescription pills, with resulting …

The supply of heroin into the US has changed with new source-forms and market strategies.
Of particular concern is the rampant and persistent adulteration of heroin with synthetic …

Background Rapid increases in drug overdose deaths in the United States since 2014 have
been highly regionally stratified, with the largest increases occurring in the eastern and …