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.
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.
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.
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.
The Biden administration scrambles to respond as new data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention show overdose deaths surged to more than 100,000 fatalities.
The city's per capita overdose death rate is among the highest in the U.S. To help address the crisis, city officials launched Street Overdose Response Teams, part of a broader public health effort.
In Georgia, more than 1,900 people died of drug-related causes in the 12-month period ending January 2021, which is a 38.8% increase over data from the previous year.
Payouts will be spread over the next 18 years, with much of the funding going to help communities struggling with high rates of opioid addiction and overdose deaths.
