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The government’s top addiction scientists and key public health officials are calling for more research into fentanyl test strips. Amid a devastating overdose epidemic, the U.S. must ensure that test strips are legal and widely available, the officials wrote in a New England Journal of Medicine perspective published Saturday. Additionally, they argued, the U.S. should work to develop new products and technologies that facilitate drug-checking. (Facher, 6/10)

Two large drugmakers and two of the biggest pharmacy chains finalized a $17.3 billion deal to settle accusations by state governments that they contributed to the opioid crisis that swept across the U.S. for more than a decade and contributed to thousands of overdose deaths. (Silverman, 6/9)

The so-called harm reduction model, which has received endorsement and funding from the Biden administration, offers potentially life-saving services to opioid users, without requiring abstinence in return. Advocates say it acknowledges the importance of keeping people alive, first and foremost, while they confront the sometimes insurmountable challenges associated with recovery. Critics argue it enables illegal activity. (Skene, 6/11)

David “Lee” Wells marveled at how it felt to hold an iced coffee in his hand again after losing his fingers to “tranq” wounds that rotted away his flesh. He flashed a cheeky grin and took a selfie with his new titanium fingers wrapped around the cup. “This is the aftermarket me,” he said. This is what recovery looks like for drug users disfigured by xylazine, or “tranq,” an animal tranquilizer mixed into America’s increasingly toxic illicit drug supply. (Wernau, 6/11)

Walking along a rail platform, a veteran transit worker spotted a package of the opioid overdose-reversing drug naloxone, picked it up and slipped it in his vest. He couldn’t imagine that he would use the medicine less than two hours later. But looking back on that evening in February 2022, it shouldn’t have been a surprise. (Uranga, 6/9)