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• The CDC reports that drug overdose deaths decreased by 13.2% over the most recent 12-month period. • Experts warn this progress is fragile due to the emergence of new synthetic drugs and the use of medetomidine. • Separately, a June 2026 clinical trial indicated that seniors with depression showed greater improvement when adding a daily probiotic to their antidepressant regimen compared to a placebo.

Experts say move signals greater political interference into public health and will exacerbate opioid overdose crisisHealth programs receiving federal funding must agree within days to new priorities from the Trump administration, including a focus on “parental authority” in education and a move away from proven overdose-prevention methods like harm reduction, suggesting greater political control over public health.The new priorities will likely affect progress against the opioid crisis, and they could signal an attack on vaccination requirements at schools, which are set at the state and local level. The priorities may also weaponize public health to quash “public disorder.” Continue reading...

Erik Fleming was sentenced in Los Angeles court after previously pleading guilty over the Friends actor’s 2023 deathSign up for the Breaking News US newsletter emailA licensed drug addiction counselor who delivered Friends star Matthew Perry the doses of ketamine that killed him was sentenced Wednesday to two years in prison.Judge Sherilyn Peace Garnett handed down the sentence to 56-year-old Erik Fleming in a federal court in Los Angeles. Continue reading...

Contradictory policies that gut harm reduction programs while supporting naloxone access are confusing expertsWithin just a few weeks, the Trump administration has proposed multiple contradictory policies related to overdose prevention – some that could help save lives and others that experts say could further strain health resources and put people at risk for overdose.These policies include a new prohibition on funding for fentanyl test strips, which help people avoid overdoses; proposed budget cuts that would gut the country’s overdose prevention efforts; and an ambitious drug control strategy that will be impossible to implement if the aforementioned cuts go through. Continue reading...

• FDA approved Haleon's Narcan 4mg nasal spray for non-prescription sale on April 7, 2026, building on 2023 authorization. • Reversal success rate 98% in trials with 150 US overdose simulations; priced at $29.95 for two-pack. • Addresses 110,000 annual US opioid deaths; 'Lifeline for bystanders,' says FDA Commissioner.

Fentanyl-related overdose deaths fell by nearly 30 per cent in the space of a year in the US, which could represent a significant turning point in the country's opioid addiction crisis

Taking psilocybin – the psychedelic component of magic mushrooms – eased symptoms of obsessive compulsive disorder among people who did not respond to conventional treatments, and the effects lasted at least several months