By Joe Sonka | Louisville Courier Journal The number of Kentuckians killed by a fatal drug overdose decreased slightly last year for the first time since 2018, according to a new annual report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. According to the agency’s 2022 report, 2,135 Kentucky residents died from[Read More…]
Tag: overdose
What to know about Kentucky’s drop in drug overdose deaths, the first in years
The number of Kentuckians killed by a fatal drug overdose decreased slightly last year for the first time since 2018, according to a new annual report from the Kentucky Office of Drug Control Policy. According to the agency’s 2022 report, 2,135 Kentucky residents died from a drug overdose last year, a 5%[Read More…]
Frankfort launches overdose response team
Frankfort Police Chief Dustin Bowman said he thinks of his own family as he works to support people suffering from substance use disorder. “I’ve seen how it’s torn families apart, how children have been removed from home and unfortunately, I’ve seen how a brother-in-law — mine — passed away from his[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…]
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…]
Xylazine Crisis: 6 Things Treatment Providers Should Know
Recently, Rahul Gupta, MD, MPH, FACP, director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP), declared xylazine—a powerful livestock tranquilizer that’s mixed into fentanyl for IV drug users—an “emerging threat,” forcing the government to develop a federal plan to address the crisis. While Congress considers a bill to classify the[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…]
Drug overdoses in the US slightly increased last year. But experts see hopeful signs
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Drug overdose deaths in the U.S. went up slightly last year after two big leaps during the pandemic. Officials with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say the numbers plateaued for most of last year. Experts aren’t sure whether that means the deadliest drug overdose epidemic in U.S.[Read More…]
STUDY: Indiana, Kentucky among states with biggest drug problems
by: Jana Garrett HENDERSON, Ky. (WEHT) – The personal-finance website WalletHub has released its report on the states with the biggest drug problems, and Kentucky as well as Indiana make the list. WalletHub says, “Drug abuse has a long and storied history in the United States, and we’ve been ‘at war’ with[Read More…]