Public Health
In an attempt to address U.S. global health security staffing and to provide a permanent designated official for coordinating interagency health response, 57 House members supported the reintroduction of the Global Health Security Act this week.
Led by U.S. Reps. Gerry Connolly (D-VA), president... Read More »
Timothy Shea, acting administrator for the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, announced Friday that the agency would be expanding Operation Crystal Shield.
The expansion identifies two additional methamphetamine “transportation hubs” in 2021. It would work to attack the entire supply... Read More »
State and federal legislators must accomplish more to help protect Marylanders and other Americans from overdose deaths during the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, U.S. Rep. David Trone (D-MD) said Wednesday.
“The devastating increases in overdose deaths throughout my district and the state of... Read More »
The Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Science and Technology Directorate (S&T) is working with the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory (PNNL) to improve the detection of synthetic opioids.
Specifically, as part of this initiative, DHS and PNNL will assess the performance of field... Read More »
Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) announced efforts that resulted in the seizure of approximately $2 million worth of suspected heroin and fentanyl pills and five arrests.
Officials noted the actions occurred following an investigation into a large-scale narcotics organization operating in the... Read More »
A South Carolina law that went into effect Jan. 1 requires emergency rooms and other healthcare facilities to report to the state health department each time an opioid antidote like naloxone is administered to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.
The law aims to help the state get a bigger... Read More »
Laredo Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) officers noted the seizure of methamphetamine totaling over $2.5 million in street value at the Juarez-Lincoln Bridge.
“While drug trafficking organizations employ a variety of methods to smuggle their illicit... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice announced Tuesday that it had filed suit against Walmart for its part in the opioid epidemic.
According to the complaint filed in federal court, the DOJ alleges that Walmart Inc. unlawfully dispensed opioids from its pharmacies across the country, resulting in... Read More »
Researchers at Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute are looking to improve the manufacturing of rapidly deployed structures to address future shortages of medical care and quarantine facilities during a health crisis, like the current pandemic.
The stress that COVID-19 has placed on medical... Read More »
Two prominent members of the founding family of Purdue Pharma appeared before Congress Thursday and continued to distance themselves from an aggressive marketing campaign the company allegedly used to drive sales of the dangerous opioid painkiller, OxyContin.
Kathe Sackler and David Sackler... Read More »
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) is launching a new campaign that urges the public to “Secure Your Meds” as part of its effort to reduce drug misuse and overdose.
The administration hopes the campaign will remind Americans to clean out their medicine cabinets and secure unused... Read More »
The Delaware Department of Health and Social Services’ (DHSS) Division of Public Health DPH) will allow that state’s residents to access Naloxone free by mail.
In an announcement on Friday, DPH said increasing access to naloxone is critical to reducing overdose deaths, especially as more... Read More »
New York State Assemblyman John T. McDonald III (D) is co-sponsoring a bill that would enact co-prescription of an opioid and an opioid overdose reversal drug like naloxone in New York, following a trend of similar laws enacted in California, New Jersey, and nine other states.
Co-prescription... Read More »
Officials with the U.S. Customs and Border Protection (CBP), Office of Field Operations (OFO) at the Laredo Port of Entry said they have seized more than $2.8 million worth of narcotics in two separate and unrelated actions at the World Trade and Colombia-Solidarity Bridges.
“The effort to... Read More »
Three nurse practitioners have been sentenced for their roles in prescribing massive quantities of opioids from pill mills in Knoxville, Tennessee, representatives from the U.S. Department of Justice said Thursday.
In a press release, Acting Assistant Attorney General Brian C. Rabbitt with the... Read More »
A bill by U.S. Rep. Clay Higgins’ (R-LA), the ranking member of the Border Security Subcommittee, that would provide border patrol agents with stronger opioid detection equipment has passed in the Senate, his office said Wednesday.
H.R. 4761, the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) Opioid... Read More »
The Alliance for Substance Abuse Progress in Bartholomew County, Ind., is wrapping up a month-long series of events to educate residents about the life-saving effects of Narcan, a medicine used for the treatment of an opioid overdose emergency.
Narcan, or the generic drug naloxone, is an opioid... Read More »
Opioid manufacturer Purdue Pharma has pleaded guilty in federal court to conspiracies to defraud the United States and violate the anti-kickback statute.
In a press release from the U.S. Department of Justice, the U.S. Attorney General’s office said the pharmaceutical company pleaded guilty... Read More »
Naloxone hydrochloride kits — or Narcan kits for short — are helping the San Francisco Police Department (SFPD) stem an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths.
During the last five years, SFPD has partnered with the San Francisco Department of Public Health and the Harm Reduction... Read More »
A new line of X-ray scanners being offered by Viken Detection, ranging from handheld devices to vehicle-focused drive over scanners, offers law enforcement and others the possibility of greater flexibility and capability in contraband detection, including the possibility to see through... Read More »
Distribution of COVID-19 vaccines in the United States could be imperiled by President Donald Trump’s decision to fight a transition to the incoming administration under Joe Biden, a new report from U.S. Sen. Gary Peters (D-MI) warned this week.
Peters, ranking member of the Homeland Security... Read More »
The U.S. House of Representatives on Tuesday approved 10 healthcare bills, including several aimed at tackling the nation’s ongoing opioid crisis, which has been exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The measures advanced today aim to address some of the many challenges Americans are facing... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) is partnering with large chain pharmacies and networks of independent pharmacies and regional chains to maximize access to COVID-19 vaccines.
This effort will cover approximately 60 percent of pharmacies throughout the 50 states, the... Read More »
The New Mexico Department of Health (NMDOH) recently reported that prescription opioid overdose deaths decreased statewide in 2019 when more than 94,000 doses of naloxone were dispensed or distributed, representing an increase of 95 percent from 2018.
NMDOH also said that there were more than... Read More »
The U.S. Department of Justice has awarded more than $96 million in grants to fund drug courts and veterans’ treatment courts, the department announced Wednesday.
The courts, funded through the DOJ’s Office of Justice Programs, work to get nonviolent juveniles, veterans, and adults with... Read More »
The Justice and Community Services section of the West Virginia Department of Homeland Security recently awarded the state a $6 million grant through the Comprehensive Opioid, Stimulant, and Substance Abuse Site-based Program.
Funding will be used for two strategies that provide addiction... Read More »
U.S. Reps. Kathy Castor (D-FL) and David McKinley (R-WV) announced Monday the introduction of bipartisan legislation aimed at reducing the flow of opioids to pill mills.
The Preventing Pill Mills Through Data Sharing Act would require drug wholesalers that ship opioids to drug stores and... Read More »
The U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency and its partners brought in nearly 1 million pounds of unused, expired, and unwanted medications during National Prescription Drug Take Back Day, Oct. 24.
The agency, along with law enforcement partners, said it has now collected nearly 13.7 million pounds of... Read More »
Members of the Indian Health Service, the Federal Health Program for American Indians, and Alaska Natives are working with members of their communities to reduce overdose deaths by improving access to Naloxone.
Commander Robert Boyle, a clinical pharmacist at the Salt River Integrated Health... Read More »
Data compiled by the Rhode Island Department of Health’s (RIDOH) Office of the State Medical Examiners show the state saw a sharp increase in the number of accidental drug overdose deaths in the first seven months of 2020.
Between January and July 2020, the state tallied 233 accidental drug... Read More »
A Michigan system that tracks suspected opioid deaths and naloxone use by first responders gives a better picture of how opioid overdoses rose after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.
The real-time tracking system developed by the University of Michigan Injury Prevention Center (IPC), in... Read More »
On the second anniversary of the passage of the SUPPORT for Patients and Community Act, U.S. Representative David B. McKinley (R-WV) urged fellow legislators not to overlook the opioid crisis facing the country during the Covid-19 epidemic.
On Friday, McKinley said that Congress must continue... Read More »
The New Jersey Legislature’s Assembly Health Committee on Wednesday unanimously passed a bill that would require opioid-antidote prescriptions for certain high-risk patients.
Assembly bill 3869, sponsored on March 23 by Assemblymen John Armato (D-Atlantic) and Valerie Vainieri Huttle... Read More »
Researchers with The Pew Charitable Trusts have found that expanding access to naloxone, and changing public policy to ensure the opioid-overdose reversal drug gets into the hands of those who need it, can reduce opioid-related overdose deaths.
Additionally, researchers said, expanded access to... Read More »
The Department of Justice’s Office of Community Oriented Policing Services (COPS Office) awarded more than $536 million in fiscal year 2020 for various policing, school safety, and anti-opioid efforts.
The money went to various programs to increase law enforcement hiring and improve school... Read More »
