DRUGS

Armed with a $1.6 million in federal funds, advocates in Brockton, Massachusetts set out to reduce overdose deaths by 40%. Then COVID hit, and the crisis spiraled, with fentanyl lacing drugs like crack and cocaine.

It’s hard to appreciate her entire career without being aware of the ways in which the studios chewed up and spat out workers like Judy Garland.

Massachusetts Department of Public Health Commissioner Margret Cooke said the 9% climb in overdoses from 2020 to 2021 is "problematic" for the state.

Each defendant in the Massachusetts drug lab case who qualifies under the class action settlement would receive a minimum of $150. Some could get more than $1,000.

While many states use civil commitment, Massachusetts is believed to be the only state that, under the law known as Section 35, court-orders some men to treatment inside jails and prisons even if they haven't committed any crimes.

After Steve Hoffman, the first chair of the Massachusetts Cannabis Control Commission, abruptly resigned, a former commissioner said new members can be a little more bold.

Massachusetts lawmakers are debating whether to continue supporting programs that lock people inside jails and prisons for addiction treatment.

Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey said 338 local governments have signed on to access the opioid settlement funding.

Personal use of controlled substances like heroin or cocaine would be decriminalized and access to in-patient substance use disorder treatment beds would be expanded under a plan Massachusetts Democratic gubernatorial candidate Danielle Allen unveiled Wednesday morning.

The head of a Northampton nonprofit that helps people addicted to drugs gave up his high-powered career after getting sober from opioids. Now he works to help others who are living on the streets with addiction.