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Prescription opioid sales in the U.S. spiked on the dark Web after it became harder for patients to obtain prescriptions for them.

Social Justice

The Number of Mentally Ill Inmates in California Jails Is Rising

A new policy brief uses psychotropic medications as a proxy for mental illness, and finds that, despite criminal justice reforms in the state, the population of mentally ill inmates in jails is growing.

Kate Wheeling

News in Brief

What Happens When You Stop Taking Psychiatric Medications

According to the people who have tried to do it.

Francie Diep

News in Brief

What Hawaii Gets Right About Prescription Medication

Medicare patients in the state appear to be much less likely to overuse problematic prescription drugs, including opioid pain medications and antibiotics, than people in the mainland United States.

Charles Ornstein & Ryann Grochowski Jones

Prescription drugs are photographed on September 11th, 2000, in Fayetteville, North Carolina.

News in Brief

New Report Finds Medicare Is Plagued by ‘Extreme’ Use of Painkillers

Some Medicare beneficiaries are being prescribed opioids by 10 or more doctors, or are filling prescriptions for more than 1,000 pills a month.

Charles Ornstein

News in Brief

Voices of the Addicted Generation: Amy

San Francisco Bay Area, graduate student, 31 As Told to Madeleine Thomas (Photo: Christopher Leaman) Editor’s Note: This…

Pacific Standard Staff

News in Brief

Voices of the Addicted Generation: Brittany

Charleston, South Carolina, marketing intern, 22 As Told to Madeleine Thomas (Photo: Christopher Leaman) Editor’s Note: This piece…

Pacific Standard Staff

News in Brief

Voices of the Addicted Generation: Daniel

Phoenix, Arizona, works for a major insurance company, 29 As Told to Madeleine Thomas (Photo: Christopher Leaman) Editor’s…

Pacific Standard Staff

News in Brief

Would Washington’s FDA Fix Cure the Patients or the Drug Industry?

A bill that would speed up approval for medications and medical devices shows how a major initiative can get traction even in the midst of Washington gridlock—but critics say all the lobbying is drowning out some warnings about patient safety.

Alec MacGillis