Opioid addiction

Drug companies already have sent $100 million to Missouri to settle lawsuits for their role in the opioid crisis. But the state could receive hundreds of millions more over the next two decades.

The new wellness center, once completed, will offer a place to help men recover from addiction in a region that only has a handful of detox beds.

Refugee and immigrant community advocates say more, and more accurate, resources and data are vital to overcoming the stigma and rising death toll from the opioid crisis.

A newly formed St. Louis-based peer support system aims to improve outcomes for St. Louis construction workers who struggle with addiction or mental health issues.

The overdose reversal medication naloxone is now available for purchase over-the-counter, but advocates say it’s still cost prohibitive — and that stigma continues to impede access.

Health workers in St. Louis will soon be placing dozens of life-saving “naloxboxes” in St. Louis and St. Louis County neighborhoods where there are many opioid drug overdoses and few clinics and hospitals. The boxes contain the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone and will be put in high-visibility, public areas.

CareSTL Health is creating a new health center in the Greater Ville neighborhood of north St. Louis. When complete next year, the Ville Wellness Center will house a drive-thru pharmacy and physical, occupational and behavioral therapy clinics.

New data on opioid deaths among Black St. Louisans show fatal overdoses up by more than 500% since 2015. A physician and a researcher with the new CENTER Initiative discuss what they’re doing to reduce those deaths.

Fentanyl is driving an overdose crisis that’s proving especially deadly for Black Missourians. Now St. Louis and Kansas City are starting to see the effects, but health experts say that existing efforts to treat substance use disorder aren’t helping the people who need it most.

The money will fund addiction treatment and prevention programs in the state, addressing the harm inflicted by the opioid crisis.