opiods

Jennifer Austin, a recovery coach who has struggled with addiction, usually hosts Narcotics Anonymous classes at this Salvation Army center in Ogdensburg, N.Y. They've been canceled because of the pandemic, leaving more people vulnerable to relapse and overdose. "I've had people I've never worked with before reach out to me and say, 'Jen, what do I do?'" Austin said. Brian Mann/NPR hide caption

Purdue Pharma, owned by members of the Sackler family, has tentatively struck a deal that would settle thousands of lawsuit brought by municipal and state governments alleging that the drug maker helped fuel the country's deadly opioid crisis. George Frey/Bloomberg via Getty Images hide caption

Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin, is facing thousands of lawsuits seeking to hold it accountable for the opioid crisis. Toby Talbot/AP hide caption

Thirty-year-old Madelyn Linsenmeir, pictured on one of her routine walks with son Ayden. "Her addiction didn't define her, but it did define the way she lived," Linsenmeir's sister, Kate O'Neill, wrote in an obituary that moved readers nationwide this week. Courtesy of Maura O'Neill hide caption

First lady Melania Trump speaks about her "Be Best" initiative in the Rose Garden of the White House on May 7. Andrew Harnik/AP hide caption

A sample of cannabidiol (CBD) oil is dropped into water. Supplements containing the marijuana extract are popular and widely sold as remedies for a variety of ailments and aches. But scientific evidence that they work hasn't yet caught up for most applications, researchers say. Stefan Wermuth/Bloomberg Creative Photos/Getty Images hide caption

On Jan. 10, President Trump signed into law the bipartisan Interdict Act, to give federal agents more tools to curtail opioid trafficking. But, after declaring the opioid crisis a public health emergency last fall, Trump has been slow to request money for treatment, critics note. The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption

Earl Borges, now 70, conducted river patrols in the Navy during the Vietnam War. These days, he says, symptoms from chronic obstructive pulmonary disease and ALS can intensify the anxiety he experiences as a result of PTSD. Courtesy of Shirley Borges hide caption

A recent study in Delray Beach identified at least six sober homes on this street alone. Greg Allen/NPR hide caption

Debbie Deagle holds a photo of her son Stephen and herself. Martha Bebinger/WBUR hide caption

The State Crime Lab at the Ohio Attorney General's headquarters of the Bureau of Criminal Investigation displayed a variety of different types of heroin. The Washington Post/The Washington Post/Getty Images hide caption

Dr. Alexis LaPietra (left) and Dr. Mark Rosenberg have developed a program that tries to treat emergency room patients' pain without using opioids, which pose fatal risks. Hansi Lo Wang/NPR hide caption

Dr. Jessie Gaeta, chief medical officer of Health Care for the Homeless at Boston Medical Center, stands in a conference room that will soon be converted to a place where patients high on heroin or other drugs can be safely monitored. Jesse Costa/WBUR hide caption

"The people that I know who have lost spouses, children, some of them are so ashamed that they wouldn't even acknowledge it as a cause of death," says A. Thomas McLellan, co-founder of the Treatment Research Institute. Courtesy of Treatment Research Institute hide caption