opioids

Families in Palm Beach County hoped protesting would convince Sheriff Ric Bradshaw to equip deputies with Narcan, which is used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

Know-how gained through the pandemic is seeping into other public health areas. But in a nation that has chronically underfunded its public health system, it’s hard to know which changes will stick.

Dr. Jason Wilson says African Americans as well as low-income and other vulnerable populations are being affected by fentanyl overdoses "at a much higher disproportionate rate" than others.

The sedative xylazine is starting to permeate illegal opioids and cocaine. It does not respond to naloxone, an overdose reversal medication, and may be to blame for grisly injuries and infections.

The initiative, which includes the first statewide director of opioid recovery, is based on a pilot treatment program in Palm Beach County that health officials touted as a success.

Festival promoters are allowing lifesaving medication as fentanyl deaths surge, but volunteers are often left to distribute it, and more controversial forms of harm reduction aren't openly allowed.

Two Washington Post journalists say pharmaceutical companies collaborated with each other — and with lawyers and lobbyists — to create laws to protect the industry. Their new book is American Cartel.

Sarasota Memorial Health Care System and Lee Health said they are not “subordinate” to the attorney general, as they were created by the Legislature.

The deal in principle would rank among the larger ones in a yearslong trend of companies settling complicated lawsuits over the toll from an addiction and overdose epidemic. That includes a $117 million settlement with Florida announced in March.

First lady Casey DeSantis joined Gadsden Sheriff Morris Young and other state and local officials to address the issue. The state is ramping up messaging as part of efforts to prevent mass overdoses.