By BRYCE SHREVE AND ERIN KELLY | KENTUCKY KENTUCKY — The number of Kentuckians lost to drug overdose in 2022 declined by more than 5% compared to the previous year, according to a report from the Office of Drug Control Policy. What You Need To Know The number of Kentuckians lost to drug[Read More…]
Tag: fentanyl
2022 Overdose Fatality Report released, Kentucky sees first decline in four years
FRANKFORT, KY (LEX 18) — Gov. Andy Beshear has released the 2022 Overdose Fatality Report. The report states 2,135 Kentuckians lost their lives to a drug overdose in 2022, which is a decline of more than 5% compared with the previous year. It is the first decline since 2018. The report[Read More…]
Lifesaving fentanyl test strips still illegal in some states under ’70s-era war on drugs law
A growing number of states are decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, seeking to protect people who use drugs from unwitting exposure to the highly potent synthetic opioid ravaging the U.S. with overdose deaths. By SAMANTHA HENDRICKSON COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — At Cleveland’s Urban Kutz Barbershop, customers can flip through magazines as[Read More…]
Bipartisan senators look to add fentanyl provision to defense policy bill
BY ELLEN MITCHELL Two senators are taking aim at fentanyl trafficking by trying to add a provision to the annual defense policy bill that would make it a national security threat. Sens. Tim Kaine (D-Va.) and Joni Ernst (R-Iowa) look to propose the Disrupt Fentanyl Trafficking Act as an amendment to the fiscal 2024 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA)[Read More…]
Fentanyl-related drugs permanently made criminal under bill passed by U.S. House
BY: ASHLEY MURRAY WASHINGTON — Lawmakers in the U.S. House passed bipartisan legislation Thursday in an effort to curb staggering overdose deaths from illegal fentanyl substances that are illicitly produced and up to 50 times stronger than heroin. The HALT Fentanyl Act, passed on a 289-133 vote with 74 Democratic votes and support from[Read More…]
New nasal spray to reverse fentanyl and other opioid overdoses gets FDA approval
This photo provided by Indivior in May 2023 shows their drug Opvee. On Monday, May 22, 2023, U.S. health regulators approved the medication to reverse overdoses caused by fentanyl and other powerful opioids, which are currently driving the nation’s drug crisis.(Indivior via AP) By The Associated Press WASHINGTON (AP) — U.S.[Read More…]
Attorney General Cameron Urges Congress to Protect Kentuckians from Illicit Xylazine
By Kentucky Attorney General Cameron FRANKFORT, Ky. – KY Attorney General Daniel Cameron urged Congress to pass the Combating Illicit Xylazine Act. The bipartisan legislation would curb the widespread use and trafficking of xylazine and help prevent overdose deaths. Xylazine is a pharmaceutical drug approved by the U.S. Food and Drug[Read More…]
Fentanyl deaths in children increase 30X in the last ten years
by CNN Fatal overdoses involving fentanyl have surged in recent years in the US, and new research shows that deaths among children have increased significantly, mirroring trends among adults. More than 5,000 children and teens have died from overdoses involving fentanyl in the past two decades, according to data published Monday in JAMA[Read More…]
Drug resistance and education group fights the spread of fentanyl in Kentucky
LEXINGTON, Ky. (WKYT) – May 9 is National Fentanyl Awareness Day. Police and health professionals say the scary thing is a lot of people who take illegal and illicit drugs don’t even know fentanyl is in them. Operation UNITE tackles drug education, enforcement and prevention all over southern and southeastern[Read More…]
Rural hospitals are key in fighting opioid and fentanyl crises. We must keep them open.
By Jeff Taylor The opioid and fentanyl crisis is still claiming the lives of too many Americans despite growing awareness of the problem, more government resources and money from settled lawsuits with pharmaceutical companies going to affected communities. In 2021 alone, nearly 300 Americans died every single day from drug overdose.[Read More…]