opioid crisis

Thousands of Floridians received overpayment notices from the state with minimal information. Also, a discussion on the opioid epidemic in South Florida. Plus, a Key West artist finally gets recognized for designing many Lilly Pulitzer textiles.

In the Purdue Pharma bankruptcy trial now underway, scrutiny has focused on the Sacklers' demand for immunity from opioid lawsuits that would extend to a vast network of individuals and businesses.

As a landmark federal opioid trial nears completion, West Virginia communities are demanding $2.5 billion in compensation. Drug firms say they acted responsibly in shipping millions of pills.

Florida could be receiving more than $1 billion as part of a national settlement against pharmaceutical companies. The federal evictions moratorium nears its end, with no extension expected. Plus, 68 years ago marked the beginning of the Cuban Revolution. The significance of July 26 — as protests against the regime continue.

Payouts will be spread over the next 18 years, with much of the funding going to help communities struggling with high rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths.

More than 93,000 people died of a drug overdose in the U.S. last year, according to new CDC data. Fentanyl and other synthetic opioids accounted primarily for the rise, which the pandemic exacerbated.

A bankruptcy judge cleared a plan for final vote by creditors of Purdue Pharma, maker of OxyContin, that would release the Sacklers and their financial empire from liability for the opioid crisis.

Under a bankruptcy procedure prohibited by courts in part of the country, the Sacklers could be sheltered from opioid lawsuits even without declaring bankruptcy. Some states are crying foul.

A non-profit syringe needle exchange program in Palm Beach County says the pandemic has played a role in the spike in drug overdose deaths.

Florida will receive $40 million as part of a $573 million settlement between McKinsey & Company and dozens of states because of the global consulting giant’s role in the opioid epidemic, according to court documents. Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody said Thursday the agreement will bring “millions of dollars into our communities, fighting the opioid epidemic, at a time when resources in Florida are very stressed, very limited.”

The giant retailer shipped billions of opioid pills to pharmacies nationwide. An NPR investigation found employees warned company executives their stores were being used by "pill mill" doctors.

Critics say the settlement doesn't hold company executives or members of the Sackler family accountable for their aggressive marketing of OxyContin, which helped fuel the nation's opioid epidemic.