Philly’s street fentanyl contains an industrial chemical called BTMPS that’s an ingredient in plastic

More than half of the street fentanyl samples collected in November 2024 contained BTMPS, and many contained more BTMPS than fentanyl.

Fernando Montero, Postdoctoral Research Fellow in Psychiatry and Social Work, Columbia University • conversation
March 6, 2025 • ~6 min

CDC layoffs strike deeply at its ability to respond to the current flu, norovirus and measles outbreaks and other public health emergencies

The CDC was instrumental in eradicating smallpox, identifying the causes of HIV and encouraging Americans to get the COVID-19 shot.

Jordan Miller, Teaching Professor of Public Health, Arizona State University • conversation
Feb. 19, 2025 • ~10 min

Xylazine wounds are a growing crisis among drug users in Philly − a nurse explains potential causes and proper treatment

The wounds contain black and yellow dead tissue and tunnel deep into the skin. Deep stigma around them can make getting treatment difficult.

Rachel McFadden, Bloomberg Fellow, Penn Medicine Center for Addiction Medicine and Policy, University of Pennsylvania • conversation
July 24, 2024 • ~11 min

Alcohol use disorder can be treated with an array of medications – but few people have heard of them

Alcohol is responsible for more deaths than overdoses from opioids and all other substances combined, yet less than 10% of people with alcohol use disorder receive treatment.

Joseph P. Schacht, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus • conversation
May 20, 2024 • ~12 min

How meth became an epidemic in America, and what’s happening now that it’s faded from the headlines

An anthropologist who wrote a book exploring meth’s impact on rural communities explains what drove the epidemic and how it’s changed.

Bryan Keogh, Managing Editor • conversation
March 15, 2024 • ~8 min

Hundreds of thousands of US infants every year pay the consequences of prenatal exposure to drugs, a growing crisis particularly in rural America

Many people wrongly assume that cannabis use during pregnancy is safe. Research is increasingly documenting a host of serious health harms from prenatal exposure to cannabis and other substances.

Amna Umer, Associate Professor of Pediatric Epidemiology, West Virginia University • conversation
Feb. 27, 2024 • ~9 min

Annual numbers of excess deaths in the US relative to other developed countries are growing at an alarming rate

New research shows that preventable deaths are increasing in the US at the same time that life expectancy keeps dropping.

Patrick Heuveline, Professor of Sociology, University of California, Los Angeles • conversation
June 13, 2023 • ~6 min

Alcohol use is widely accepted in the US, but even moderate consumption is associated with many harmful effects

The number of deaths related to alcohol use in the US grew by a staggering 25% between 2019 and 2020, the first year of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Christina Mair, Associate Professor of Behavioral and Community Health Sciences, University of Pittsburgh • conversation
Jan. 6, 2023 • ~9 min

Taking certain opioids while on commonly prescribed antidepressants may increase the risk of overdose

Drugs can interact with one another in ways that are harmful. A study finds that taking oxycodone with certain SSRIs can make an opioid overdose more likely.

Ismaeel Yunusa, Assistant Professor of Clinical Pharmacy and Outcomes Sciences, University of South Carolina • conversation
July 29, 2022 • ~3 min

Why opting out of opioids can be dangerous in the operating room

Non-opioid directives allow patients to refuse opioids in all health care settings. For surgical procedures that require anesthesia, however, this may do more harm than good.

Paul Edward Hilliard, Clinical Associate Professor of Anesthesiology, University of Michigan • conversation
June 10, 2022 • ~8 min

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