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News Articles: overdose deaths

Brittney Galvanauskas looks at a piece of art on the wall at Living Proof Recovery in Rome, Georgia.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Proponents say prioritizing recovery services over punishments may reduce fentanyl overdoses

Georgia Senate Bill 79 or the Fentanyl Reduction and Eradication Act, takes Austin's Law to the next step, establishing mandatory minimum sentences for drug crime.

April 02, 2025
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
People protested in front of the White House in September 2023 to raise awareness of opioid-related deaths. A year later, the number of fentanyl-related deaths in the U.S. has dropped sharply.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl deaths in the U.S. have dropped faster than expected, CDC says

If the downward trend holds, this year is expected to be the first since 2020 to see overdose deaths fall below the 100,000 mark. However, Black and Native American communities remain vulnerable.

October 17, 2024
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
A U.S. Customs and Border Protection agent checks pedestrians' documentation at the San Ysidro Port of Entry in San Ysidro, California. A growing number of experts believe the flow of deadly street fentanyl from Mexico into the U.S. has been disrupted, contributing to a drop in fatal overdoses.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

The pipeline of deadly fentanyl into the U.S. may be drying up, experts say

Street fentanyl has long been viewed as unstoppable. Now many experts say the supply of the deadly synthetic opioid is suddenly drying up in many parts of the U.S. and fatal overdoses are dropping.

October 01, 2024
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
Matthew Perry appears at the premiere of <em>Ride </em>in Los Angeles on April 28, 2015.

Tagged as: 

  • Arts & Life

2 doctors are charged in connection to 'Friends' actor Matthew Perry’s ketamine death

Five people, including two California doctors, have been charged in connection with the 2023 death of the Friends actor, according to the U.S. Attorney's Office.

August 16, 2024
|
By:
  • Jonathan Franklin
Fentanyl-laced counterfeit oxycodone pills are flooding U.S. streets, but other street drugs, including methamphetamine and cocaine, are killing more and more people.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

U.S. drug deaths declined slightly in 2023 but remained at crisis levels

Powerful synthetic opioids and drugs like meth and cocaine still flood U.S. communities, fueling historically high overdose deaths.

May 15, 2024
|
By:
  • Brian Mann
A person prepares heroin, placing a fentanyl test strip into the mixing container to check for contamination.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Georgia moves forward on a new way to tackle fentanyl overdoses — punishing dealers

As the fentanyl crisis grows, Georgia lawmakers have set their eyes on holding someone accountable, pushing forward a bill that will make it easier to charge drug dealers with murder if their supply causes an overdose.

March 22, 2024
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
 An overdose reversal kit was installed next to emergency medical equipment and a fire extinguisher near the main public entrance at the state Capitol. It’s one of five on site.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Bipartisan bill to expand access to free drugs like Narcan makes its way through Georgia House

Vending machines carrying opioid-overdose reversal drugs are the center of a bill moving through the Georgia House that aims to make more drugs available to combat deaths from overdose.

February 05, 2024
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
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

Tagged as: 

  • National

'I ain't found it yet.' No line this mother won't cross to save her addicted daughter

Renae was so desperate to keep her child alive when so many others have died from overdose that she resorted to extreme measures — and extreme risks. She now supervises drug use in her own home.

December 12, 2023
|
By:
  • Martha Bebinger
The number of overdoses that involve both fentanyl and stimulants like cocaine and meth is growing fast. One way people who use drugs can protect themselves is by using test strips to check for the presence of fentanyl in other drugs.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl mixed with cocaine or meth is driving the '4th wave' of the overdose crisis

A new study finds a 50-fold growth in deaths from combined use of stimulants and opioids. The toxic and contaminated drug supply is to blame.

September 15, 2023
|
By:
  • Scott Maucione
The overdose-reversal drug Narcan is displayed during training for employees of the Public Health Management Corporation (PHMC), Dec. 4, 2018, in Philadelphia. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved selling overdose antidote naloxone over-the-counter, Wednesday, March 29, 2023, marking the first time a opioid treatment drug will be available without a prescription.

Tagged as: 

  • News

FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan. Here's what it means

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has approved selling overdose antidote naloxone over-the-counter, marking the first time a opioid treatment drug will be available without a prescription. Wednesday's approval is for Narcan, a name-brand version of naloxone sold by Emergent BioSolutions.

March 29, 2023
|
By:
  • Associated Press
A person prepares heroin, placing a fentanyl test strip into the mixing container to check for contamination.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Free fentanyl tests now available in partnership with Fulton County

The Fulton County Board of Health partnered with local organizations StopHIVATL and the Atlanta Harm Reduction Coalition to give out fentanyl test strips to save lives from drug overdose, which continues to add to a decrease in life expectancy nationwide.

January 23, 2023
|
By:
  • Ellen Eldridge
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

A historic increase in U.S. overdose deaths shows how minorities fare the worst

Disparities in overdose deaths were highest among Black and Indigenous people. 

July 20, 2022
|
By:
  • Sofi Gratas
More than 91,000 people in the U.S. died from drug overdoses in 2020. There were sharp increases among certain racial groups, a new report finds.

Tagged as: 

  • Health

U.S. death toll from drug overdoses is rising fast among Black and Indigenous people

Drug overdoses are killing more people than ever in the U.S., and a new CDC report finds growing racial disparities among those who have died — with the largest increase among Black Americans.

July 20, 2022
|
By:
  • Rhitu Chatterjee
Illegal drugs confiscated by police

Tagged as: 

  • Health

Fentanyl-related overdoses surge in state

Over the last two months, at least 66 emergency room visits in the state involved the use of cocaine, methamphetamines, counterfeit pills or other drugs likely containing fentanyl, a dangerous synthetic opioid that can be up to 100 times more powerful than morphine.

April 04, 2022
|
By:
  • Andy Miller
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