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A little over half the country considers prescription painkiller addiction a major problem for the nation, but say it doesn't rise to the level of national emergency, a new report in the New England Journal of Medicine notes. In late October, President Trump declared the epidemic a national public health emergency; declaring some type of national emergency was the “first and most urgent” recommendation from the president’s commission to address the opioid epidemic. (Roubein, 1/4)

Looking to combat the opioid abuse epidemic, a Silicon Valley legislator has introduced a slate of bills meant to clamp down on access to highly addictive prescription drugs. Assemblyman Evan Low (D-Campbell) authored three measures meant to provide a better understanding of patients’ access to these medications, building on an existing state database tracking prescriptions in California. “I don’t think there’s enough attention at the issue at hand, which is the system is not working,” Low said. (Mason, 1/4)