British Columbia Premier David Eby is downplaying concerns raised by his Alberta counterpart Danielle Smith about the diversion of safe supply opioids from B.C. Diversion from the system of prescribed safe supply to prevent overdoses is a “serious issue,” Eby said, but the vast majority of drugs in a B.C. police seizure cited by Smith … Read more
PORTLAND, Ore. — Kendra Sawyer spoke with her dad from the Deschutes County jail and told him she loved him. Six hours later, in the throes of opioid withdrawal, the 22-year-old took her own life. A year later, Sawyer’s father, Kent, is left wondering whether his daughter, troubled as she was, might still be alive … Read more
NEW YORK — Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths, a new government study suggests. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention called its study published Thursday the largest to look at how Americans took the drugs that killed them. CDC officials decided to study the … Read more
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Evelyn Jefferson walks deep into a forest dotted with the tents of unhoused Lummi Nation tribal members and calls out names. When someone appears, she and a nurse hand out the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone. Jefferson, a tribal member herself, knows how critical these kits are: Just five months ago, her … Read more
An Ontario mayor declared a state of emergency after nearly 20 people overdosed in 24 hours. And Quebec City health authorities have issued new warnings after detecting an opioid 25 times stronger than fentanyl disguised as prescription oxycodone. Experts say both events demonstrate worsening trends in Canada’s drug supply and opioid crisis, even as they … Read more
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration is allowing one of the nation’s largest wholesale drug distributors to stay in business, reversing an earlier order stripping the company of its licenses for its failure to properly monitor the shipment of tens of millions of addictive painkillers blamed for fueling the opioid crisis. As part of the settlement … Read more
By Staff The Canadian Press Posted February 11, 2024 10:50 am Updated February 11, 2024 11:46 am 1 min read Descrease article font size Increase article font size A synthetic opioid 25 times more powerful than fentanyl has made its way to the Quebec City region, where public health officials reported Saturday they have detected … Read more
An advertising agency that helped develop marketing campaigns for OxyContin and other prescription painkillers and a drugmaker announced separate agreements Thursday worth a total of $500 million to avoid going to trial on claims that they bore some responsibility for the nation’s opioid crisis. Publicis Health, part of the Paris-based media conglomerate Publicis Groupe, agreed … Read more
WASHINGTON — The e-commerce giant eBay will pay $59 million in a settlement with the Justice Department over thousands of pill press machines sold on the platform, the Justice Department said Wednesday. The machines can be used to manufacture counterfeit pills that look just like prescription pills but instead can be laced with substances like … Read more
PORTLAND, Ore. — Several elected leaders in Oregon declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for downtown Portland over the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson made the declaration for a 90-day period during which collaboration and … Read more
