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A Philadelphia nonprofit group said it will open the nation's first supervised injection site next week to combat overdose deaths after a federal judge rejected Justice Department efforts to block the plan. U.S. District Judge Gerald McHugh, in a final ruling Tuesday, said the Safehouse proposal doesn’t violate federal drug laws because the intent is to save lives, not encourage drug use. (2/25)

In the soft glow of the ultrasound machine in the dimly lighted exam room, Dr. Craig Towers offered his patient this assessment: “Your baby is doing great!” But Emily Lenderman barely registered the good news. The 22-year-old was miserable. A raging staph infection had overrun the right side of her face, her skin was clammy and dark bags shadowed her eyes. Her head lolled side to side. (Wilber, 2/26)

Nationwide, two-thirds of the country’s 2.3 million inmates are addicted to drugs or alcohol, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. But only a small fraction of those who need treatment behind bars receives it. The vast majority of the nation’s nearly 2,000 state and federal prisons and 3,100 county and municipal jails do not offer addiction treatment that includes any of the three medications — methadone, buprenorphine and Vivitrol — approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. That’s changing, albeit slowly. An estimated 120 jails in 32 states and prison systems in 10 states now offer evidence-based treatment for opioid addiction, triple the number in 2018. (Vestal, 2/26)