"It's an easy way to get your hands on an opiate-based drug, a painkiller, for recreational use, " Stillwell says.

CNN: Using dentists as dope dealers

Alkermes is starting late-stage clinical trials of Vivitrex, an injectable form of naltroxene--an FDA-approved drug for the treatment of opiate and alcohol dependence, and it has several other drugs in development.

FORBES: Magazine Article

While Covidien has a large pharmaceutical business--it's the largest U.S. manufacturer of acetaminophen, the ingredient in Tylenol, and opiate painkillers--Meelia isn't girding to compete with drug giants like Merck.

FORBES: Magazine Article

Doctors at Columbia University are working on a cocaine vaccine that blocks the drug's interaction with the brain and on medical implants for opiate addicts, among other things.

FORBES: Reinventing Rehab

The preferred way to treat drug-dependent babies at the Knoxville hospital is by giving them small doses of an opiate and gradually weaning them off, said Dr. John Buchheit, who heads the neonatology unit at East Tennessee Children's.

NPR: Tenn. Hospital Treats Drug-Dependent Babies