Addiction

77 Stories

One solution to Seattle’s fentanyl crisis

We are in the depths of a drug crisis. Twelve thousand people and counting have died from overdoses this year in King County. There’s one solution the Seattle area hasn’t adopted, even though it has a track record of saving lives and other benefits: Safe consumption sites. Seattle Times reporter Greg Kim tells us about these sites and the locals trying to open them here.
- Patricia Murphy
Addiction drug maker will pay more than $102 million fine for stifling competition

Indivior was accused of using illegal strategies to keep generic versions of the opioid-treatment medication Suboxone off the market. The company denies wrongdoing.
- Brian Mann
Why are drug possession laws are so contentious in Washington state?

Lawmakers are gathering in Olympia today for the start of a special legislative session. There’s only one thing on the agenda: A new drug possession law.
- Patricia Murphy
The backlash over Seattle's plan to reward drug users for staying clean

Darryl Lee shifts in his seat and stares down at his lap as he unearths some distant memories of childhood. This isn’t nostalgia. His dad was a “chronic alcoholic,” and “abusive.” To escape, his mom moved the family to Seattle from Dallas. Eventually, Lee fell in with the wrong crowd, he said. “I got addicted to drugs and started going to jail and started being a criminal, and it just snowballed after that,” he said.
- David Hyde
Maternity homes provide support in a post-Roe world, but not without conditions

A crisis pregnancy center in Idaho opened a maternity home in the months after the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade. The residents have more complicated stories than the home's founders expected.
- Katia Riddle
WA lawmakers move treatment over jail time to the House

Democratic lawmakers in Olympia are working on a strategy to tackle drug possession that balances law enforcement and diversion. Senate Bill 5536 would allow people with substance use disorder an opportunity to choose treatment over jail time. But supporters say it will require a major investment for an airtight plan. And time is of the essence, the current law on the books expires this summer. KUOW reporter Amy Radil joins us today to walk us through where the senate bill is at today.
- Brandi Fullwood
The roots of mental health start younger than you think

When you throw a rock in a pond, it creates ripples. It spreads - disrupting the water further and further away from the point of entry. The experience of trauma or adversity -- especially in early childhood -- can also have a lasting ripple effect on a person’s life.
- Libby Denkmann
KUOW's Swimming Upstream

KUOW's three-part series "Swimming Upstream" details the mental health-focused journey of one Seattle-area family through crisis.
- Liz Jones
For moms in recovery, these home visitors offer a lifeline

Toni Gardner is the type of person who will set up a lawn chair outside the hotel room of someone with a drug addiction, then wait for hours for a foot in the door to connect.
- Liz Jones
A family’s newfound resolve is tested — again: Swimming Upstream

After a major setback, a family’s will to keep up life-saving routines is put to the test.
- Liz Jones

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