Lev Facher
@levfacher.bsky.social
I write about substance use and the drug overdose crisis for @statnews.com https://www.statnews.com/staff/lev-facher/
Alcohol kills ~500 people a day in the U.S. But it's not treated with much urgency in this country. On this week's STATus Report, my @statnews.com colleagues @isabellacueto.bsky.social and @levfacher.bsky.social join me to discuss their new reporting on why that is. youtu.be/vRfMXv8-3AY
Why isn't alcohol seen as a U.S. health emergency?
YouTube video by STAT
youtu.be
Today my colleague @isabellacueto.bsky.social dropped the first installments of our series "The Deadliest Drug," which highlights our invisible alcohol epidemic. Alcohol kills more people than fentanyl, meth, + cocaine combined. The question is: Why do we let it? www.statnews.com/2026/05/12/a...
Alcohol is wreaking havoc on U.S. public health. American society looks the other way
The Deadliest Drug, a new investigative series, shows that the alcohol epidemic is a generational failure of the medical and public health systems, of industry, and of government.
statnews.com
A somewhat inscrutable pivot from Trump on 7-OH and (maybe?) kratom: www.statnews.com/2026/05/11/t...
Trump pivots on kratom derivative 7-OH, floating approval for some forms
Last year, the FDA had warned that natural opioids in kratom were being turned into harmful products. Now President Trump says approval should be considered.
statnews.com
New: A settlement in Washington state between a church group and county government could set new precedent that the ADA protects not just addiction treatment but also harm reduction services like syringe exchange: www.statnews.com/2026/02/10/n...
Landmark settlement could create new protections for harm reduction under disability law
A Christian group announced a potentially landmark legal settlement that the ACLU says could establish new federal protections for harm reduction services.
statnews.com
Every layoff today was a travesty, but noting in particular that WaPo's @davidovalle.bsky.social was one of a tiny handful of staff reporters covering addiction/drugs full-time for a U.S. news outlet. This is a generational public health crisis that our industry should attack, not retreat from
More on the Trump administration's big new addiction initiative, featuring a forthcoming RFK road show, involvement from faith-based groups, and a new initiative on homelessness that Kennedy says is based on a model from the Netherlands www.statnews.com/2026/02/02/t...
To fix ‘spiritual malaise’ behind addiction, Kennedy announces efforts on homelessness and recovery
Trump administration details a new addiction initiative led by HHS Secretary Kennedy emphasizing faith-based groups, tough love and recovery.
statnews.com
New: Inside the rise + fall of Opvee, the powerful overdose-reversal medication that Indivior hoped would replace Narcan. Instead, two years after its launch, it's effectively off the market, thanks largely to intense pushback from harm reduction groups. More here: www.statnews.com/2026/01/29/w...
How Opvee, Indivior’s powerful overdose antidote, went bust
Opvee reverses opioid overdose more quickly than Narcan. It also can cause withdrawal symptoms. Harm reduction advocates fought it, and won.
statnews.com
The Trump administration is slashing nearly $2 billion in existing grants for mental health, addiction treatment, HIV/hep C prevention, and more, the latest in a yearlong degradation of SAMHSA
Trump administration cuts up to $1.9 billion from mental health and addiction treatment programs
SAMHSA canceled up to $1.9 billion in grants without staff consultation, accelerating the mental health agency's deterioration under President Trump.
statnews.com
Scoop: Art Kleinschmidt, SAMHSA's de facto head since April, is leaving the beleaguered agency this week for a role at the Department of Homeland Security www.statnews.com/2025/12/11/s...
Acting head of beleaguered mental health agency to depart this week
SAMHSA, amid continuing crises in mental health and addiction, has been hit by heavy cuts in personnel and funding under President Trump.
statnews.com
Surreal to read the words of the late Sharon Begley in STAT's obituary of James Watson, whom she describes as legend of science but also a man whose "public and unrepentant racism and sexism ... made him a pariah in life and poisoned his legacy in death" www.statnews.com/2025/11/07/j...
James Watson, dead at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers
James Watson, the co-discoverer of the structure of DNA who died Thursday at 97, was a scientific legend and a pariah among his peers.
statnews.com
Goodbye, SAMHSA? After the Trump administration's latest layoffs at the federal agency for mental health and addiction treatment, the agency is in shambles. On the sacking of SAMHSA and what it means for the country's behavioral health, w/ @levfacher.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/10/30/s...
Trump cuts have decimated the federal addiction and mental health agency
The Trump administration has dismantled big chunks of the federal agency focused on mental health and addiction treatment, reducing its staff by more than half
statnews.com
Major news in opioid crisis world: Indivior will no longer promote its controversial overdose-reversal medication Opvee, following lagging sales and outcry from harm reduction groups that it unnecessarily sent OD victims into agonizing withdrawal www.statnews.com/2025/09/30/n...
Indivior to stop marketing Opvee, controversial overdose-reversal medication
Exclusive: Indivior is halting Opvee promotion after a New York settlement. Critics say the overdose drug is overpriced, risky, and no safer than widely used naloxone.
statnews.com
Sara Carter, formerly of Fox News, argues her firsthand reporting experience qualifies her for a leading role combating drug trafficking and the overdose crisis. www.statnews.com/2025/09/17/s...
Sara Carter, former Fox News journalist, defends qualifications to serve as ‘drug czar’
Sara Carter, formerly of Fox News, argues her firsthand reporting experience qualifies her for a leading role combating drug trafficking and the overdose crisis.
statnews.com
Inside RFK's stunning ouster of Susan Monarez as CDC director, via @danielpayne.bsky.social
Inside the CDC director's ouster: Kennedy demanded acceptance of new vaccine policies; Susan Monarez refused
Susan Monarez’s resistance to Robert F. Kennedy Jr.’s moves to assert control over vaccine guidance is at the center of her dismissal as CDC director
statnews.com
MAHA turned 1 over the weekend, and it's hard to believe it's only been one year since Kennedy endorsed Trump and kickstarted this movement. I talked with nearly two dozen people to try and make sense of all that has happened — or not. Lots to unpack! www.statnews.com/2025/08/25/r...
As MAHA turns 1, a fired-up movement is still figuring out how to fulfill its promises
"That is so brilliant. Why didn’t we think of this before?" As MAHA turns 1, STAT examines the growth of the movement and takes stock of its challenges.
statnews.com
The FDA is requiring opioid manufacturers to rewrite drug warning labels to stress the risks of long-term opioid use: www.statnews.com/2025/08/01/f...
FDA to stress opioids’ risk of overdose, death in new medication safety labels
The FDA will soon require prescription opioid manufacturers to include stronger language on the medications’ labels warning of the risk of overdose and death.
statnews.com
Incredible reporting from my @statnews.com colleague @lizzylawrence.bsky.social on the ouster of Vinay Prasad from the FDA: www.statnews.com/2025/07/30/v...
Inside the fall of Vinay Prasad at the FDA
Prasad's departure followed a campaign by a right-wing activist and a controversy over a rare disease drug.
statnews.com
Exclusive: Trump's nominee to serve as HHS general counsel has sponsored legislation that would ban methadone clinics outright. Mike Stuart, a W.V. state lawmaker, has also advocated for banning syringe exchange. (West Virginia's drug death rate is significantly higher than any other state)
Trump nominee for top HHS post pushed to ban methadone treatment
HHS general counsel nominee Mike Stuart’s position on methadone puts him far outside the mainstream in American politics.
statnews.com
The FDA is recommending the DEA crack down on 7-OH, a psychoactive compound derived from the kratom plant. w/ @levfacher.bsky.social: www.statnews.com/2025/07/29/7...
Trump administration moves to ban concentrated 7-OH, kratom-related synthetic
“We’re not targeting the kratom leaf or ground-up kratom,” said FDA Commissioner Marty Makary.
statnews.com
New for @statnews.com: Trump's executive order takes direct aim at supervised consumption sites like OnPoint NYC and harm reduction more broadly www.statnews.com/2025/07/25/t...
Trump targets supervised consumption of drugs and harm reduction in executive order
President Trump is threatening to withhold funds from supervised drug consumption sites and potentially pursue criminal penalties against them.
statnews.com
New: Inside the elite Pennsylvania rehab facility aggressively prescribing GLP-1s, normally used for weight loss, as medications to treat addiction “I truly think these medications work because obesity is an addiction to food.” www.statnews.com/2025/07/14/g...
Ozempic for addiction: How an elite rehab center is using GLP-1s to 'obliterate' all kinds of cravings
Pointing to Ozempic as a paradigm shift, an elite rehab center is experimenting with GLP-1s to tame many forms of addiction.
statnews.com
Yesterday, we dove into all the data on chronic disease in the U.S. So, what can actually make a dent in it? Here are 3 big ideas: www.statnews.com/2025/05/21/r...
Three big ideas to actually ‘Make America Healthy Again’
STAT reviewed dozens of studies, interviewed chronic disease experts, and landed on three focus areas for Robert F. Kennedy Jr. to boost health.
statnews.com
Bluesky addiction medicine/recovery folks: Seeking perspectives from people who've used GLP-1s, either for weight management/diabetes or for addiction treatment itself, and have found the medications impacted their cravings, use patterns, etc. — please email me at lev.facher@statnews.com!
New: CDC data released today shows a 27% decrease in drug overdose deaths in 2024 compared to the year prior, as fentanyl deaths plummet but deaths involving stimulants like meth and cocaine increase www.statnews.com/2025/05/14/d...
Drug overdose deaths fell sharply in 2024, as fentanyl cases dropped but meth spiked
U.S. drug overdose deaths fell 27% in 2024, the lowest since 2019, with fentanyl cases sharply down but methamphetamine up, the CDC reports.
statnews.com
MAHA leader Casey Means is the new nominee to serve as U.S. Surgeon General, via @isabellacueto.bsky.social www.statnews.com/2025/05/07/t...
Trump nominates Casey Means, entrepreneurial doctor and MAHA leader, for surgeon general
Means, a doctor, entrepreneur and MAHA influencer, is nominated to be next U.S. Surgeon General. Her brother is already advising Kennedy.
statnews.com
New: Pam Bondi's exaggerated remarks on fentanyl interdiction in Trump's first 100 days "saving 258 million lives" are rooted in a long history of squishy law enforcement claims about drug busts www.statnews.com/2025/05/07/p...
Did Trump’s fentanyl seizures save 258 million lives? Gross exaggeration, experts say
Attorney General Pam Bondi's claim that fentanyl seizures saved 258 million lives follows a long line of dubious claims from law enforcement officials.
statnews.com
New: How medetomidine, a sedative commonly used in hospital and veterinary settings, is rapidly replacing xylazine in the drug supply — complicating overdose reversals and leaving users in excruciating, "life-threatening" withdrawal www.statnews.com/2025/05/01/m...
Sedative 'dex' is replacing 'tranq' in illegal drug supply and causing excruciating withdrawal
Medetomidine, or dex, is emerging as a dangerous xylazine replacement in illicit fentanyl, complicating overdose response and posing severe withdrawal risks.
statnews.com
President Trump's first 100 days of downsizing, dismantling, and derailing much of the American scientific enterprise — remarkable reporting from my STAT colleagues www.statnews.com/2025/04/25/t...
Trump’s first 100 days, seen through 5 lives: Grants terminated. Dreams crushed. Futures in the balance
STAT spoke with people living through the historic disruptions threatening the future of biomedical research in the U.S. These are their stories
statnews.com
New from Nashville: RFK navigates protests, jeers at Rx Summit, where he stuck to his personal story and didn't stray into politics or any ongoing HHS controversy www.statnews.com/2025/04/24/r...
RFK Jr. faces mixed reception, unruly crowd at major addiction conference
Health Secretary Robert F. Kennedy Jr. spoke at a large meeting of addiction experts, encountering both cheers and repeated protests.
statnews.com
New: A federal judge has given the go-ahead to a class-action lawsuit targeting the Salvation Army's policy of denying spots in its rehab facilities to people who take methadone or buprenorphine — potentially a landmark case for access to addiction medications www.statnews.com/2025/04/16/a...
Salvation Army faces class-action suit over denying addiction medications
The Salvation Army runs recovery housing but disallows addiction medicines like buprenorphine. A class-action suit could expand treatment access.
statnews.com