Native Americans in Washington State have been hit hard by the opioid epidemic. They die of opioid overdoses at a rate nearly three times higher than non-natives, and access to drug treatment is scarce in rural areas such as Clallam County, which has been flooded with prescription pain pills and black tar heroin. But when a tribe proposed opening a multimillion-dollar, state-of-the-art drug treatment center for both native and non-native patients struggling with substance abuse, local residents fought back—arguing that it would draw “addiction tourists” to the small town, hurt housing prices and overwhelm schools ad law enforcement.
The center would have combined native healing practices with medication-assisted treatment (MAT), which combines withdrawal medications with therapy and peer-based counseling. Yet one year later, the death toll continues to mount as the fight over the facility drags on, dividing the community and raising uncomfortable questions about racism, the nature of addiction treatment and the intentions of the tribe itself, which traces its roots to the area for centuries. Meanwhile, a documentary by Frontline and the Financial Times traces the story of opioid maker Insys, and how its executives became the first pharmaceutical bosses to get prison terms for bribing doctors to prescribe prescription painkillers, fueling the opioid epidemic.
And finally, the battle over dangerous flavored e-cigarettes and vaping devices moves to Montana, where a temporary state ban on such products has expired and the vaping industry vows to fight a new plan by the state health agency to impose permanent restrictions on sale. With an estimated 30 percent of Montana high school students using e-cigarettes the officials say concerns over vaping—and the outbreak of vaping-related lung illnesses—are as urgent now as they were last year, before being overshadowed by the Covid-19 pandemic.