Drug Enforcement Administration

A senior Drug Enforcement Administration official told NPR efforts to target drug cartels operating inside Mexico have unraveled because of a breakdown in cooperation between law enforcement agencies and militaries in the two countries.

New data from the CDC show more than 19,000 Americans died from drug overdoses during the first three months of 2020 with the country on pace to set a grim new record.

Kratom, an herb that's abundant, legal in most states and potentially dangerous, is the subject of an ongoing debate over its risks and benefits.

Researchers hoping to study marijuana for scientific and medical purposes are one step closer to expanding their limited supply of the plant. This week, the federal government announced it would begin processing dozens of pending applications for permission to cultivate the plant for scientific research.

Joaquín "El Chapo" Guzmán, the 62-year-old former head of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel, was convicted in February for drug crimes. A life sentence was mandatory.

As addiction has soared, drugmakers, distributors and pharmacies profited off opioids. Newly released data details who made the pills, where they were sold, and which communities were hit hardest.

The semi-submersible vessel was reportedly carrying more than 17,000 pounds of cocaine, worth some $232 million.

At the same time Washington Attorney General Bob Ferguson is suing three Fortune 15 pharmaceutical distributors for allegedly “fueling the state’s opioid epidemic,” majority Democrats in the Washington Legislature this year left intact a generous tax break for distributors of opioids and other prescription drugs while raising taxes on other business sectors.

The Department of Justice said defendants allegedly pushed more than 32 million unneeded pills, contributing to a drug crisis and potentially defrauding the health care system.

Joaquín Guzmán was convicted on all 10 counts he faced related to his leading of Mexico's infamous Sinaloa cartel.