While Iowa’s problem with opioid prescriptions can’t compare with some states, deaths from the drug have quadrupled in 20 years, as we reported in October, according to a report from the University of Iowa Injury Prevention Research Center. “From 2002 to 2014, as many as 1,239 people died from a prescription opioid overdose in Iowa,” the Business Record said. Enter this story from an NBC affiliate in Philadelphia, where the opioid crisis is much worse. The city is looking at safe-injection sites, which would have medical professionals overseeing drug consumption and looking for signs of an overdose. Vancouver has been operating such sites for 10 years. The goal is to deal with the deadly overdoses gripping much of the U.S. This story doesn’t contain details on cost or how the sites are implemented, but it’s one idea to consider if Iowa were to encounter a much worse problem with the drugs. Read more