Follow the latest Opioid Epidemic news, videos, and analysis from ABC News.
February 3, 2023, 12:41 AM
Families sue Snapchat parent company over drug delivery deaths
Families are suing the company behind Snapchat, alleging the social media giant enables drug dealers to sell lethal drugs to children online.
February 3, 2023, 12:41 AM
February 2, 2023, 12:11 AM
Canadian province decriminalizes drugs to fight overdose deaths
The Canadian province of British Columbia said it's decriminalizing small amounts of some drugs to help combat the number of drug overdose deaths.
February 2, 2023, 12:11 AM
January 30, 2023, 8:08 PM
Experts urge better opioid rescue drug access to save lives
Access has improved across the U.S. to a rescue drug that reverses opioid overdoses, but advocates say naloxone — commonly known by its brand name Narcan — still isn't getting to everyone who needs it
January 30, 2023, 8:08 PM
January 26, 2023, 2:46 PM
Social media being used to sell pills laced with fentanyl, reports say
Law enforcement agencies, including the FBI, have sought subpoenas to obtain records from social media companies to trace the sales of pills that users may not know contain fentanyl.
January 26, 2023, 2:46 PM
January 19, 2023, 2:34 AM
2 treated for likely fentanyl exposure at Oregon school
Authorities say a student and a deputy were treated at a hospital after they likely were exposed to fentanyl at a western Oregon middle school
January 19, 2023, 2:34 AM
January 18, 2023, 5:49 PM
W.Va. announces $83 million opioid settlement with Walgreens
West Virginia is the U.S. state with the most per capita overdose deaths.
January 18, 2023, 5:49 PM
1 month ago
Ex-doctor convicted of overprescribing opioids to addicted patients
Freeda Flynn was found guilty on eight counts of unlawfully distributing controlled substances, including oxycodone, hydrocodone and methadone
1 month ago
1 month ago
Man sentenced to record-breaking 20 years in prison in fentanyl death of teenager
A man was sentenced to 20 years in prison for the death of a 19-year-old who bought what appeared to be prescription oxycodone pills that actually contained fentanyl.
1 month ago
1 month ago
New York state seized record amount of fentanyl in 2022: DEA
New York seized 1.9 million fentanyl-laced, fake prescription pills in 2022.
1 month ago
1 month ago
Opioid legal charge pushes Walgreens to $3.7B fiscal 1Q loss
A huge opioid settlement dragged Walgreens to a $3.7 billion loss in its fiscal first quarter, but the drugstore chain still beat Wall Street forecasts
1 month ago
1 month ago
Oklahoma AG announces 4 new opioid settlements worth $226M
Oklahoma has entered into four new settlements with opioid makers and distributors totaling more than $226 million
1 month ago
1 month ago
Justice Department sues pharma distributor AmerisourceBergen over opioid orders
The distributor's actions fueled the opioid epidemic, a civil complaint alleges.
1 month ago
2 months ago
DEA seized enough fentanyl to kill every American in 2022
The Drug Enforcement Administration on Tuesday said it has seized more than 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl this year.
2 months ago
2 months ago
CVS, Walgreens finalize $10B in settlements over opioids
CVS and Walgreens have finalized more than $10 billion in settlements of lawsuits nationwide over the toll of the opioids their pharmacies sold
2 months ago
2 months ago
Police find fentanyl in coconuts
Prosecutors in Mexico say police seized 660 pounds of fentanyl pills packed into coconuts. Video shows the coconut husks had been neatly split in half and reassembled.
2 months ago
2 months ago
Dad shares warning after 10-month-old treated for possible fentanyl exposure at park
A California dad is speaking out after his 10-month-old son was treated for possible fentanyl exposure after playing at a public park.
2 months ago
2 months ago
Parent says baby barely survived after ingesting fentanyl at California park
The parent of a 10-month-old claimed that the baby ingested fentanyl while playing at Moscone Park in San Francisco.
2 months ago
3 months ago
Walmart offers to pay $3.1 billion to settle opioid lawsuits
Walmart has agreed to pay $3.1 billion to settle lawsuits nationwide over the impact of the prescriptions its pharmacies filled for powerful prescription opioid painkillers
3 months ago
3 months ago
CDC releases new guidelines for prescribing opioids to include people with short-term pain
The CDC released new guidelines for prescribing opioids Thursday to include people with short-term pain and explicitly advises against abrupt discontinuation of opioids.
3 months ago
3 months ago
Teva Pharmaceuticals to pay New York $523 million in major opioid settlement
It is the largest settlement New York has reached with a single opioid defendant.
3 months ago
3 months ago
CVS, Walgreens agree to $10 billion opioid settlement
CVS Health and Walgreens on Wednesday said they had agreed to a settlement totalling about $10 billion in opioid lawsuits against the pharmacy chains.
3 months ago
3 months ago
Teva Pharmaceuticals to pay New York $523 million to settle claims from its role in opioids crisis
Teva Pharmaceuticals agreed Thursday to pay $523 million to New York to settle claims stemming from the company’s role in the opioids crisis.
3 months ago
3 months ago
CVS, Walgreens announce opioid settlements totaling $10B
CVS and Walgreens have agreed in principle to pay a total of about $10 billion to settle lawsuits over the toll of powerful prescription opioids
3 months ago
3 months ago
CVS agrees to $5 billion opioid settlement
CVS Health on Wednesday said it had agreed to a $5 billion settlement designed to "substantially resolve" opioid lawsuits against the pharmacy chain.
3 months ago
3 months ago
America’s fentanyl crisis
Los Angeles County Sheriff Alex Villanueva joins "GMA3" to discuss the recent seizures of illegal fentanyl in candy boxes and what parents need to know ahead of Halloween to keep their kids safe.
3 months ago
4 months ago
California woman charged with murder in deadly fentanyl poisoning
A California woman has been charged with murder for allegedly selling fentanyl-laced pills involved in the death of a Fresno resident in January.
4 months ago
4 months ago
Widow and mother of late MLB pitcher Tyler Skaggs speak out against fentanyl
The Skaggs family is on a mission to spread awareness of the dangers of fentanyl.
4 months ago
4 months ago
Officials warn about candy-lookalike 'rainbow' fentanyl ahead of Halloween
The Drug Enforcement Agency has also issued a warning on so-called rainbow fentanyl.
4 months ago
4 months ago
Hidden Epidemic: US fentanyl crisis worsens
Law enforcement, students and parents present dire warnings as the nation continues to see a rise in fentanyl overdose deaths.
4 months ago
4 months ago
Hidden Epidemic: Schools, parents, police scramble as US fentanyl crisis worsens
Law enforcement, students and parents present dire warnings as the nation continues to see a rise in fentanyl overdose deaths.
4 months ago
4 months ago
DOJ seizes 10 million fake fentanyl-laced pills from May to September this year
From May to September of this year, the Department of Justice has seized an estimated 10 million fentanyl-laced pills, officials said on Tuesday at DEA headquarters.
4 months ago
4 months ago
Hidden Epidemic: Experts discuss the growing fentanyl crisis
Dr. Debra Houry, the Acting Principal Deputy Director of CDC, and DEA Administrator Anne Milgram join Juju Chang in a discussion about the nation's fentanyl crisis.
4 months ago
4 months ago
DEA warns about fentanyl being sold to kids
Federal officials are sounding the alarm over the dangers of fentanyl pills .
4 months ago
5 months ago
Schools issue fentanyl warnings
School officials and federal authorities are ramping up warnings that children have become targets of fentanyl, including "rainbow fentanyl," a new variety of the drug disguised as candy.
5 months ago
5 months ago
Phoenix police seize more than 1 million fentanyl pills
Detectives with the city’s Drug Enforcement Bureau have made the biggest opioid seizure of its kind in Phoenix police history.
5 months ago
5 months ago
School district to provide all schools with Narcan after fentanyl overdoses
A medicine used to reverse the effects of a fentanyl overdose will be available at all K-12 schools in the Los Angeles Unified School District.
5 months ago
5 months ago
LACDPH to give all K-12 schools naloxone amid opioid overdose increase: District
A medicine used to reverse the effects of overdoses will be available at all K-12 schools, the Los Angeles Unified School District said.
5 months ago
6 months ago
‘Raising Lazarus’ author on the fight for justice in the opioid crisis
ABC News’ Deirdre Bolton spoke to “Dopesick” author Beth Macy about her new book, “Raising Lazarus: Hope, Justice, and the Future of America’s Overdose Crisis.”
6 months ago
6 months ago
Judge rules pharmacies must pay $650M to Ohio counties for opioid distribution
A federal judge awarded millions in damages to two Ohio counties, stating that Walmart, CVS and Walgreens pharmacies distributed opioids to customers, causing severe harm to their communities.
6 months ago
7 months ago
CDC says drug overdose deaths rise among minority groups
A lack of education about lethal drugs and limited access to treatment have exacerbated racial disparities in drug overdoses, according to the health agency.
7 months ago
7 months ago
CDC finds significant increase of opioid overdoses among minority groups
The CDC found a significant increase in opioid overdoses among Black and American Indian/Alaskan Native individuals across the country.
7 months ago
9 months ago
Did the fentanyl crisis thrive because the US ignored opioid abuse?
One in fourteen Americans are suffering from some form of addiction, according to the CDC.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Americans suffer deadly fentanyl overdoses in record numbers
Families in Nashville learn the deadly reality of fentanyl after child suffers fatal overdose.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Poisoned: America’s Fentanyl Crisis
America’s illicit drugs are being laced with one of the deadliest opioids ever created, killing in record numbers. ABC News' Bob Woodruff travels to uncover the epidemic of fentanyl poisoning.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Poisoned: America's Fentanyl Crisis
In the final part of a series, ABC News' Bob Woodruff explores potential solutions to America’s deadly fentanyl crisis, including a visit to the first harm reduction clinic in the country.
9 months ago
9 months ago
ABC News' Bob Woodruff talks about new special, 'Poisoned: America’s Fentanyl Crisis'
Nearly 108,000 Americans died from a drug overdose in 2021, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Poisoned: America's Fentanyl Crisis
In part four of a series, ABC News’ Bob Woodruff learns how the drug fentanyl, used to treat his near-fatal injury in Iraq, nearly killed one of the Army medics who had helped save his life.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Poisoned: America's Fentanyl Crisis
In part three of a series, Bob Woodruff watches a drug seizure at the U.S.-Mexico border, speaks with a convicted drug dealer and one sheriff who is fighting to keep people like him off the streets.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Still rocked by opioid crisis, West Virginia now dealing with rise in fentanyl overdoses
West Virginia was ground zero in the opioid crisis and now faces a new phase as fentanyl overdoses in the area are on the rise.
9 months ago
9 months ago
Poisoned: America's Fentanyl Crisis
In part two of Poisoned: America's Fentanyl Crisis series, ABC News' Bob Woodruff travels to West Virginia and follows one EMS team overwhelmed by fentanyl overdoses, and doctors who feel responsible.
9 months ago