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It’s been almost three weeks since a Boston jury began deliberating in the racketeering trial of Insys Therapeutics Inc. executives over the promotion of their opioid drug, with nary a peep from the panel. In that time a defense lawyer has grown almost a full beard, one of the defendants says she’s out of money and can’t afford to stay near the courthouse anymore, and observers are left speculating about what’s going on in the jury room high above Boston Harbor. (Lawrence, 4/28)

As soaring numbers of construction workers battle addiction, building trades leaders in Boston are launching a conference this week intended to do just that: show contractors and union members how they can help those who are hooked on drugs and alcohol. (Hilliard, 4/28)

An Ohio health system is opening a new hospital in suburban Columbus as it deals with a scandal involving a doctor accused of ordering excessive painkiller doses for dozens of patients who died. The 210-bed Mount Carmel Grove City hospital opens Sunday. Mount Carmel Health System is moving inpatient services and hundreds of employees to the $361 million facility from Mount Carmel West, the flagship hospital it's closing in the lower-income Franklinton neighborhood. (4/27)

For the past 17 years, nursing has been ranked the most honest and ethical profession in an annual Gallup survey. But what happens when a nurse loses that trust because of substance abuse? In New Hampshire, a new program encourages nurses to self-report if they are impaired by alcohol or drug abuse. When they do, they’ll be referred to treatment, and their recovery will be monitored even after they return to duty. Proponents say it’s a way to protect patient safety, help nurses struggling with addiction and retain talented professionals in the face of a critical nursing shortage. (Wickham, 4/27)

UC Davis Professor Bruce Hammock has spent a 50-year career studying insects. He probably wouldn’t be the Ph.D. considered most likely to shake up the multibillion-dollar prescription painkiller market. Nonetheless, he has developed a medication for chronic pain that he said has proved both effective and non-addictive in animal trials. (Anderson, 4/29)