fentanyl

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Man Who Stashed Fentanyl in Daycare Gets 45 Years

Felix Herrera-Garcia went on the run after toddler died from overdose

(Newser) - A man who hid a stash of fentanyl beneath the floorboards of a Bronx daycare center was sentenced to 45 years in prison Wednesday in connection with a toddler's fatal opioid overdose. Felix Herrera-Garcia previously pleaded guilty to drug charges and causing bodily harm after the death of Nicholas...

Big Drop in OD Deaths: 'This Has Not Happened by Accident'

Preliminary data from CDC shows 10% decrease in overdose deaths in 12-month span ending in April

(Newser) - Partly due to fentanyl rampaging through the narcotics pipeline, the United States has seen a depressingly high death count from drug overdoses in recent years. Now, however, signs of improvement: According to preliminary data from the states released in August by the CDC , there was a 10% drop in that...

DEA to Close 2 of Its 'Hard-Won' Offices in China

Move comes even as agency struggles to stem flow of fentanyl chemicals

(Newser) - The US Drug Enforcement Administration is shutting down two of its hard-won offices in China, the AP has learned—a move that comes even as the agency struggles to disrupt the flow of precursor chemicals from the country that have fueled a fentanyl epidemic in the US. "These closings...

New Scourge in Deaths of Minors: Pills Bought Online

AP investigation finds that minors are dying of fentanyl overdoses linked to tainted pills

(Newser) - Fentanyl overdoses have become a leading cause of death for minors in the last five years or so, even as overall drug use has dropped slightly. And social media, where tainted, fake prescription drugs can be obtained with just a few clicks, is a big part of the problem, the...

After Nurse Stole Women's Painkiller, Clinic Settles

Fertility patients endured excruciating pain after a nurse took their fentanyl, subbed in saline

(Newser) - Dozens of women who say they suffered excruciating pain at a Yale University fertility clinic because a nurse stole fentanyl for her own use and replaced it with saline have settled their lawsuits against the Ivy League school, per the AP . Patients and their lawyers announced the settlements Monday in...

Hospital Sued After Nurse Allegedly Put Tap Water in IVs

The patients were supposed to receive fentanyl

(Newser) - Attorneys representing both living and deceased patients of an Oregon hospital filed a $303 million lawsuit against the facility on Tuesday after a nurse was accused of replacing prescribed fentanyl with nonsterile tap water in intravenous drips. The wrongful death and medical malpractice complaint accuses Asante Rogue Regional Medical Center...

Prison Mail Worker Opened Letter, Was Dead Within Hours

Letter was laced with drugs, though it's not clear what caused his death

(Newser) - A federal prison inmate and two other people were charged Tuesday with conspiring to mail drugs to a penitentiary in California where a mailroom supervisor died this month after opening a letter that prosecutors said was laced with fentanyl and other substances, the AP reports. According to prosecutors, Jamar Jones,...

After US Pressure, China Yields on Fentanyl Chemicals

Beijing agrees to crack down on drug's precursors starting Sept. 1

(Newser) - China, one of the largest sources of chemicals used to produce fentanyl, will impose new restrictions on the substances, in a move signaling the Biden administration's pressure campaign has paid off. The administration has for years been pushing Beijing to impose stricter oversight over the production and sale of...

$3.6K of Online Orders Is Enough for $3M of Fentanyl

Reuters journalists show how easily it can be done

(Newser) - Question: How hard would it be to order supplies online to whip up a lucrative batch of fentanyl? Answer: "Astonishingly easy," declares Reuters after some of its reporters did exactly that. More specifically, the journalists shelled out a total of $3,607.18 (mostly in bitcoin) and bought...

Nurse Accused of Replacing Patients' Fentanyl With Water

44 Oregon patients allegedly harmed, 16 of whom died

(Newser) - An Oregon nurse is accused of replacing the fentanyl that had been prescribed to patients with non-sterile tap water, which was delivered to them via intravenous drips. Of the 44 patients authorities say were harmed by Dani Marie Schofield's alleged actions, 16 died—most while still hospitalized, but some...

It's a Rare Something to Celebrate Amid Fentanyl Crisis

Overdose deaths decline for first time since 2018

(Newser) - There's a glimmer of hope in the ongoing drug crisis powered by fentanyl. Overdose deaths declined in 2023 for the first time in five years, though the drop was only slight, according to CDC estimates. There were 107,500 deaths, down 3% from 111,029 in 2022, preliminary data...

Mexico's Chief Detective Apologizes for Fentanyl Comment

He said that Mexico has been the 'champion' of meth production, 'and now fentanyl'

(Newser) - The head of Mexico's detective service apologized Thursday for saying his country is "the champion" of fentanyl and meth production, the AP reports. The comments Tuesday by Felipe de Jesus Gallo, the head of Mexico's Criminal Investigation Agency, appeared to contradict past statements by President Andrés...

Report: China Using Tax Rebates to Fuel US Fentanyl Crisis

House panel says makers of fentanyl precursors get subsidies if materials are only sold abroad

(Newser) - China is fueling the fentanyl crisis in the US by directly subsidizing the manufacturing of materials that are used by traffickers to make the drug outside the country, according to a report released Tuesday by a special House committee focused on countering the Chinese government. Committee investigators said they accessed...

Prosecutors: Kouri Richins Had Already Tried to Kill Husband

Utah woman is charged with attempted murder over alleged February 2022 incident

(Newser) - A Utah woman who authorities say fatally poisoned her husband in 2022, then published a children's book about grief, now faces another attempted murder charge for allegedly drugging him weeks earlier on Valentine's Day. Kouri Richins, 33, is accused of killing her husband with a lethal dose of...

Cops: Alleged Husband Killer May Have Learned From Mom

Kouri Richins's mother, Lisa Darden, also had a partner die from overdose, writes detective

(Newser) - Accused of altering a life insurance policy before murdering her husband with a dose of fentanyl bought from a housekeeper , then selling a book about grief , Kouri Richins may not have acted alone, according to police. In a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit, a detective describes a long-ago incident involving...

More Drug ODs Now Come From Smoking, Not Injecting
More Overdoses Now Come
From Smoking, Not Injecting
new study
Feb 16, 2024 11:53 AM CST

More Overdoses Now Come From Smoking, Not Injecting

CDC flags the drug stat, which is linked to the rise of fentanyl use

(Newser) - A new CDC report flags a notable stat related to the rising use of fentanyl: For the first time, more fatal overdoses come from smoking drugs than injecting them.
  • From early 2020 to late 2022, smoking overdose deaths surged 74% while injection overdose deaths fell 29%, reports the AP .
  • Overall,
...

Early Toxicology Reports May Shed Light on 3 KC Fans' Death

Source tells TMZ that the men allegedly showed traces of coke, fentanyl; cops await fuller tests

(Newser) - Three friends and fellow fans of the Kansas City Chiefs who were found dead outside a residence in the Missouri city were said by the homeowner to have frozen to death. Now, early toxicology results suggest there may be more to the story. Sources tell TMZ that preliminary reports have...

Fentanyl State of Emergency Declared in Portland, Oregon

'Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive'

(Newser) - 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...

The Opioid Crisis Is Crossing Over to Something Darker

Experts struggle to treat multi-drug use as opioid users turn to meth and other stimulants

(Newser) - The opioid epidemic has become an uphill battle with the rise of fentanyl on the streets, but experts are seeing an even scarier trend. The New York Times reports that people addicted to drugs are more likely to use multiple substances now, combining a cocktail of uppers and downers that...

One Woman's Controversial Mission to Help Drug Addicts

Louise Vincent focuses on 'harm reduction' approach instead of abstinence

(Newser) - One way to help addicts off of drugs is to get them to quit cold turkey, an approach favored by many US politicians as they push for legislation and tougher prison sentences to combat the emergence of such drugs as fentanyl and xylazine (aka "tranq," or "zombie...

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