Skip to Main Content
The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University

The Daily Free Press

The Independent Student Newspaper at Boston University.

The Daily Free Press

The Daily Free Press

City Hall

City Council discusses the rise in drug overdoses in Boston

Jessie O’Leary March 16, 2023
Boston City Council ordered a hearing in its March 15 weekly meeting to examine the “alarming recent uptick” of drug overdoses in Boston. 
person holding a narcan demonstration device

Seven North Shore cities encourage residents to carry Narcan

Sam Trottenberg April 2, 2021
A new campaign seeks to curb opioid overdoses through education and increased access to medication.
Purdue Pharma L.P. pleaded guilty on Oct. 21 to criminal charges for the company's marketing and selling of opioids, which led to a nationwide opioid crisis. NICOLAS TEPPER/DFP FILE

BU professors analyze Purdue Pharma shutdown, aftermath

Kyla Denisevich November 6, 2020
Around 450,000 people have died from opioids since the turn of the century, and many companies are to blame for the drug's overprescription and misuse.
Angela Ao/DFP STAFF

American Protest: Big Pharma is guilty, but now we must help those suffering on the streets

Meredith Varner October 27, 2020
The fight against the opioid crisis does not end with Purdue Pharma and its admittance to guilt.
Yvonne Tang/DFP STAFF

Politics Philosophized: Decriminalization, legalization of all drugs are best ways forward

Max Ferrandino October 13, 2020
I would say yes to both legalization and decriminalization — either will be better than the current system of drug enforcement. Even very addictive and dangerous drugs such as heroin and fentanyl should be legalized and regulated.
A demonstrator stands in the road at the intersection of Washington Street and Massachusetts Avenue protesting the lack of services the City offers to people facing drug addiction. LAURYN ALLEN/ DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Neighbors organize Methadone Mile protest

Allison Pirog September 3, 2020
Residents of Roxbury and the South End took to the streets Thursday to express their concerns about Methadone Mile, a stretch of Massachusetts Avenue popular for drug use and dealing.
Meredith Varner

American Protest: New tactics in the fight against the opioid crisis should be welcomed

Meredith Varner February 24, 2020
Big Pharma pushed the prescription of opioids and doctors got benefits for prescribing them — they are the ones at fault. Because of that, people who are addicted just have to make a doctor’s appointment and say the right thing. 
Bearing Witness: An open letter to Mac Miller

Bearing Witness: An open letter to Mac Miller

Ariel Stein September 10, 2018

Dear Mac Miller, As a girl from Pittsburgh and specifically your very-own Squirrel Hill neighborhood, you composed a soundtrack to my generation’s coming-of-age story. In your album “Blue Slide...

OD deaths from opioids went down by eight percent in 2017, which some people are attributing to the availability of Narcan, pictured above. PHOTO COURTESY GOVERNOR TOM WOLF/ FLICKR

Massachusetts sees first decrease in opioid-related deaths in 7 years

Michal Shvimer February 20, 2018
Massachusetts has seen an eight percent decrease in opioid overdose deaths from 2016 to 2017. A recent Department of Public Health report showed estimates that there will be between 433 and 518 more deaths added to the current confirmed 1,501 in 2017.

U.S. Surgeon General calls for robust response to opioid epidemic at SPH event

Mike Reddy January 26, 2018

At least 932 people in Massachusetts died from an opioid-related overdose in the first nine months of 2017, according to a report by the Massachusetts Department of Public Health.  In light of the ongoing...

A report from the Massachusetts Department of Public Health released Wednesday found a six percent increase in deaths related to opioids in the last year. GRAPHIC BY KATELYN PILLEY/DAILY FREE PRESS STAFF

Opioid related deaths on the rise in 2015

Kennedy Davis October 26, 2015

Despite statewide efforts to address the opioid epidemic, estimates show that opioid-related deaths have increased since last year, according to data released Wednesday from the Massachusetts Department...

EDIT: A Deadly Deal

EDIT: A Deadly Deal

Editors September 29, 2014

When caught by the campus police selling LSD and Molly, a University of Massachusetts Amherst student by the name of “Logan” was given an offer he couldn’t refuse. In exchange for becoming a campus...

Load More Stories
Activate Search
overdose