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News Articles: opioid epidemic

A pair of gloved hands holds a clear, plastic bag with fentanyl.

Tagged as: 

  • Politics

A new Georgia bill would add mandatory minimum sentences to fentanyl-related crimes and deaths

A bill called the Fentanyl Eradication and Removal Act that passed out of Georgia’s Senate last week would create mandatory minimum sentences for those trafficking in fentanyl if passed by the House and signed by the governor.

March 12, 2025
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
People affiliated with opioid recovery service providers listen in April to the question and answer portion of the Macon informational session around how Georgia's Opioid Crisis Abatement Trust will disburse millions of dollars of settlement funds.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Which Georgia programs will receive money from national opioid lawsuit settlements?

Awards from the state have been announced for the first two years of programs aimed at addressing the opioid epidemic.

December 13, 2024
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
Brian taps in the code to dispense fentanyl test strips from the new harm reduction vending machine in North Adams, MA.  Anyone can get the test strips for free. But to receive drug-use supplies like needles and pipes, clients of the nearby clinic must register for an access code. The machine is cooled and heated to preserve medications like Narcan.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Instead of sodas, these vending machines offer needles and Narcan to fight overdoses

Groups trying to reduce overdose deaths and the spread of infectious diseases are using vending machines to get clean needles, pipes, wound care kits, Narcan and other safety supplies to drug users.

November 14, 2024
|
By:
  • Martha Bebinger
A syringe service program recipient in Augusta dumps her used needles into a sharps container on April 1, 2024. It's an example of harm reduction, part of the continuum of care for addiction that could be funded by Georgia's share of opioid settlement funds.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia is prepped to spend millions on tackling the opioid crisis. What do drug users want?

Harm reduction, aimed at keeping people safe and alive, is one piece on the spectrum of addiction care that the state is ready to fund through settlements with major drug manufacturers.

May 16, 2024
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
Delgates vote by holding up yellow cards in the audience at the Dawson County government building March 21, 2024.

Tagged as: 

  • Mental Health

6 regional councils in Georgia to review grant requests from opioid lawsuit settlement funds

Money for programs approved by the Region 1 Advisory Council affect communities north of the metro Atlanta area.

March 27, 2024
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
*****NIGHT PRODUCTION*****

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl and xylazine in street drugs are deadly. Here's how to get free test strips to detect both

Test strips for xylazine are available alongside fentanyl test strips to help prevent overdose deaths.

March 08, 2024
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A stock image of a person with nasal nalmefene spray in a utility belt.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Former U.S. surgeon general says new 'fentanyl fighter' should be available without a prescription

The majority of drugs tested after an opioid overdose — 90% — contain fentanyl, which is a synthetic opioid that is up to 50 times stronger than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. That's why some health experts are calling for nasal nalmefene to be available over the counter.

December 15, 2023
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
The Supreme Court heard arguments Tuesday in a challenge to a deal to compensate victims of the opioid epidemic that shield the Sackler family from lawsuits.

Tagged as: 

  • Law

It's money v. principle in Supreme Court opioid case

The justices struggled to decide whether to give a thumbs up or thumbs down to the multi-billion dollar Purdue Pharma bankruptcy deal--a deal meant to compensate victims of OxyContin.

December 04, 2023
|
By:
  • Nina Totenberg
Six people stand next to an overdose reversal kit in the Georgia State Capitol

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'Where's the Narcan?' Georgia capitol building installs emergency overdose reversal kits

An overdose of opioid pain medication can kill someone. And Narcan nasal spray can save a life. That's why five overdose reversal kits are now available throughout the Georgia State Capitol.

August 31, 2023
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy, walks outside of the White House, Nov. 18, 2021.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

'Tranq' drug xylazine causes irreversible overdose and withdrawals — worse when mixed with fentanyl

The U.S. Office of National Drug Control Policy named a veterinary tranquilizer an “emerging threat” for humans when mixed with the opioid fentanyl, but pharmacists say they've been warning for years about irreversible overdose and extreme morbidity risks associated with xylazine.

April 17, 2023
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
Preston Wysocki (left) and mother Heather Wysocki visit the grave of brothers/son Austin Hart and Dustin Hart Saturday, March 14, 2020.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Atlanta and local governments continue fighting drug companies for opioid crisis related damages

The city of Atlanta and six metro area counties filed a federal lawsuit this week in the U.S. District Court of North Georgia seeking compensatory and punitive damages against drug companies and pharmacies related to their role in the opioid crisis.

March 23, 2023
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A woman with sunglasses walks in front of a McKesson building

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia's getting millions in a vast opioid settlement. But lack of transparency concerns advocates

Georgians affected by the opioid epidemic say they should have a voice in how the state’s $636 million settlement is used.  

November 04, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A bag of assorted pills and prescription drugs is dropped off for disposal during the Drug Enforcement Administration's National Prescription Drug Take Back Day on April 24, 2021 in Los Angeles.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

New book chronicles how America's opioid industry operated like a drug cartel

Two Washington Post journalists say pharmaceutical companies collaborated with each other — and with lawyers and lobbyists — to create laws to protect the industry. Their new book is American Cartel.

August 02, 2022
|
By:
  • Terry Gross
A kit with naloxone is displayed at the South Jersey AIDS Alliance in Atlantic City, N.J. on Wednesday, Feb. 19, 2014. An overdose of opiates essentially makes the body forget to breathe. Naloxone works by blocking the brain receptors that opiates latch onto and helping the body "remember" to take in air.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl-related overdose deaths lead record-setting surge of more than 100K lives lost to drugs

While white Georgians ages 25 to 54 still account for most overdose deaths from opioids, fatalities among Black Georgians are climbing fast, up more than 250% since 2019, according to the Georgia Department of Public Health.

May 11, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
A person prepares heroin, placing a fentanyl test strip into the mixing container to check for contamination.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia will no longer consider fentanyl test strips as drug paraphernalia

The strips that determine whether a substance contains fentanyl are currently considered paraphernalia in Georgia. That puts a life-saving tool in the same category as a syringe.

April 21, 2022
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
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