Opioid Epidemic

The Texas governor signed a $50 million bill into law on Wednesday to help bring ibogaine through FDA-approved clinical trials for opioid use disorders and other neurological and mental health conditions. Advocates said the legislation is the largest state-funded psychedelic research initiative in history.

U.S. drug deaths dropped by roughly 40% last year among people under the age of 35. It's a welcome pivot for families and communities devastated by fentanyl.

Texas, including the capital city, was especially hard-hit by a wave fentanyl-related deaths in the past few years. But with the help of overdose-reversing drugs, things are looking better.

The three biggest likely recipients are Crosspoint, Alpha Home, and San Antonio Lifetime Recovery.

The educational nonprofit behind Sesame Street has created videos and stories for caregivers or therapists to share with kids 6 and under, to help explain addiction or why parents need treatment.

KFF Health News obtained documents showing the exact dollar amounts — down to the cent — that local governments have been paid in 2022 and 2023 in lawsuit settlements from the opioid crisis.

The initiative includes a program to send overdose reversal drugs to all 254 counties in the state.

Advisers to the FDA put the opioid overdose-reversal drug a step closer to being sold without a needing a prescription. Even if approved, the medication may not reach many people who need it.

It could amount to the last round of huge settlements after years of litigation over the industry's role in an overdose crisis linked to more than 500,000 deaths in the U.S. over the past two decades.

The county will receive about $12 million from the deal — $4 million directly and an estimated $8 million more out of the region.