Addiction

The opioid crisis is, first and foremost, a human tragedy—lives lost, families torn apart and communities broken. In Ohio alone, there were nearly 4,300 opioid overdose deaths in 2017.

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) - Ohio launched a $1.6 million study Thursday that aims to identify the genetic markers that separate people likely to develop opioid addiction from people somehow immune to the painkillers’ addictive properties.

Eric Stimac’s path to addiction began with a work injury. Several years ago, he said, he was working a side job on a day off.

For the families of the roughly 400,000 Americans who have died of opioid drug overdoses since 1999, a legal drama scheduled to unfold in an Ohio courtroom next month may feel like a true shot at justice.

AKRON, Ohio (AP) — The tentative settlement involving the opioid crisis and the maker of OxyContin could mean that thousands of local governments will one day be paid back for some of the costs of responding to the epidemic.

Fighting the opioid epidemic in Ohio, which has the second-highest rate of opioid overdose deaths in the United States, is considered by many health practitioners at The Ohio State University not just a professional responsibility, but also a moral imperative.

Bouncing on a purple exercise ball, Alyssa talks to her new teacher about what classes she needs to graduate. "There’s a Psychology 1 as an elective, I would take that, but I already took psychology and sociology... And I feel like Heartland in general is a psychology class," she adds, laughing.