Morning Briefing
Summaries of health policy coverage from major news organizations
San Francisco Proposes Unapproved Treatment To Fight Opioid Addiction
San Francisco Chronicle: San Francisco Could Turn To Hydromorphone To Curb Opioid Deaths
San Francisco might study prescribing a little-known narcotic that’s not approved for treatment to people struggling with opioid addiction as part of its effort to stem the carnage from drug overdoses. The city already doles out doses of buprenorphine and methadone, two of three opioids approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to treat addiction to other opioids, which have been shown to cut drug deaths by up to half. (Moench, 10/3)
AP: $500M-Plus From Opioid Deal Starts Heading To Washington
The first payments from a $518 million settlement with the nation’s three largest opioid distributors will begin reaching Washington communities in December, providing much-needed cash officials can use to hire first responders or direct toward prevention, treatment and other services, Attorney General Bob Ferguson said Monday. (Johnson, 10/3)
Anchorage Daily News: Federal Trial Begins For Eagle River Nurse Practitioner Charged With Deadly Opioid Over-Prescribing
The federal criminal trial of a former Eagle River nurse practitioner charged with supplying vast quantities of opioids that resulted in the overdose deaths of several of her patients started Monday in Anchorage. (Theriault Boots, 10/3)
The New York Times: Victoria And Albert Museum Reverses Course And Removes Sackler Name
The director of the Victoria and Albert Museum in London once told the BBC that the museum was “proud to have been supported by the Sacklers” — the family whose philanthropy is tied to the drug at the heart of the opioid crisis. The museum was “not going to be taking” its name off the walls, the director, Tristram Hunt, added at a 2019 news conference. Yet now, the museum has done just that: removing signage that pointed visitors to its Sackler Courtyard, the glittering multimillion-dollar main entrance that opened to much fanfare in 2017, as well as to its Sackler Center for Arts Education. (Marshall, 10/3)
