Mixtures of powerful drugs that can cause overdoses or skin wounds are being found more often in illicit drug samples throughout Ohio, according to the Ohio Narcotics Intelligence Center.
The agency recently issued a safety bulletin to alert Ohioans of what it calls “tranq-dope” and “benzo-dope” after state labs reported an eight-fold increase in drug samples in one and double the number in the other between 2021 and 2023.
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An infamous Tennessee doctor who exchanged prescription opiates for sex and money will serve 20 years in federal prison, according to a release by the Department of Justice (DOJ).
Jeffrey Young Jr. of Jackson, who was known as the “Rock Doc,” will begin serving his time immediately.
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A new bill that originated in the Tennessee Senate would require drug dealers who contribute to the overdose of drug users to be charged with murder.
SB 1754 was introduced in January and is now making its way through Tennessee Senate committees.
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French public and advertising giant Publicis Groupe — the lead funder of “disinformation watchdog” NewsGuard — has agreed to pay $350 million as part of a settlement with state attorneys general over the company’s role in America’s opioid crisis. “Today’s filings describe how Publicis’ work contributed to the crisis by helping Purdue Pharma and other opioid manufacturers market and sell opioids,” said a press release from South Carolina Attorney General Alan Wilson. “Court documents detail how Publicis acted as Purdue’s agency of record for all its branded opioid drugs, including OxyContin, even developing sales tactics that relied on farming data from recordings of personal health-related in-office conversations between patients and providers.” “The company was also instrumental in Purdue’s decision to market OxyContin to providers on patient’s electronic health records,” said the press release. At the same time it is paying this $350 million settlement over its marketing tactics — Publicis Groupe, headed by CEO and Chairman Arthur Sadoun (pictured above) is also the “largest corporate investor” in NewsGuard, a company whose co-founder said it is a “vaccine against misinformation,” reported Lee Fang in RealClearInvestigations. NewsGuard said it “provides transparent tools to counter misinformation” and in 2021, it announced a partnership with Publicis to “combat…
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Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced Thursday his office was apart of a $350 million multistate settlement with Publicis Health to resolve investigations into the marketing firm’s role in the prescription opioid crisis.
The Volunteer State will receive more than $9 million from the settlement, with a majority of the funds placed into the state’s Opioid Abatement Trust Fund to support local efforts addressing the opioid epidemic.
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In a candidate survey completed by all but two contestants running for Nashville mayor, State Sen. Heidi Campbell (D-District 20) laid out a far-left plan of action that she says she will implement should she be elected.
One of her top priorities, Campbell said, will be gun control.
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Pennsylvania’s GOP-run state Senate this week passed legislation banning supervised injection sites, sending the bill to the state House.
Such locations — also called “safe injection sites,” “safe consumption spaces” or “overdose prevention sites” — permit addicts to take illicit substances, mainly opioids, without fear of prosecution. Advocates of the injection centers say they are an important means of avoiding overdoses and drug-related disease transmission. The nonprofit Safehouse has been working to open such a location in Philadelphia.
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A bill extending the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose law from State Representative Quang Nguyen (R-Prescott) was signed into law by Governor Katie Hobbs (D) on Thursday, prompting a statement of celebration from the lawmaker.
“This is an example of good policy getting passed even with divided government,” said Nguyen. “Prosecuting people who seek or provide lifesaving assistance in drug overdose cases can have a chilling effect and delay or even prevent timely help during a medical emergency.”
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Wisconsin Governor Tony Evers (D) is preparing to allocate a large fraction of opioid settlement money toward a new housing program for those in recovery.
In February 2021, an assemblage of 47 states including Wisconsin announced an agreement with the consulting firm McKinsey & Company would yield a total of $573 million for the jurisdictions in recompense for the corporation’s alleged role in the opioid epidemic. Prior to the settlement, state Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) and prosecutors across the country undertook an investigation that led to allegations that McKinsey devised promotions for high-strength pain medications resulting in widespread, improper use.
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Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul (D) announced on Thursday that his and numerous other states have finalized an agreement whereby the CVS and Walgreens pharmacy companies will pay $10.7 billion to those jurisdictions over opioid-epidemic concerns.
The deal comes as a result of litigation by prosecutors across the nation alleging that the corporations failed to ensure that their pharmacies properly dispense painkillers, resulting in illegal trafficking and use of the drugs that has contributed to widespread deadly addiction.
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On Tuesday, Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti announced that he, along with 15 other state attorneys general, led negotiations on a $3.1 billion settlement with Walmart.
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The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is urging Tennesseeans to get rid of their unneeded prescription medications later this week.
“Whether it’s a recent surgery, dental procedure, or clearing out a home after the death of a loved one, there are so many situations where people have mass quantities of medications just sitting around. Safe and secure disposal through Take Back Day events is just about the easiest way we all can have an impact on substance use and addiction in our communities,” said TDMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams, LCSW. “And with deadly doses of illicit fentanyl being pressed into counterfeit pills, there’s never been a more important time to take back your medications so that young people never begin experimenting with medications they find in the home.”
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The Tennessee Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (TDMHSAS) is receiving a $3,000,000 grant to support families and children affected by opioids or other substance abuse.
DMHSAS Commissioner Marie Williams said, “When addiction hits a person, it impacts their whole family in ways that will be felt for years to come. We’ve seen time and time again that if a person can achieve recovery, they can unlock the door to being the parent they always wanted to be. We’re so grateful to our partners in this work, and we know that it will truly have a generational impact for hundreds of families.”
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Thursday, the Republican National Committee hosted a Zoom press call with Lieutenant Governor Jon Husted and congressional nominee Max Miller (OH-07) to discuss border security, the fentanyl crisis, and crime.
In speaking with Tricia McLaughlin Communications Director for Governor Mike DeWine and Husted, “The domestic supply of opioids from over prescribing pharma companies both production and distribution have largely ceased.”
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As Tennesseans prepare to head to the polls on August 4, where they will vote on whether to retain the state’s five Supreme Court justices, The Tennessee Star has completed a profile on each justice currently sitting on the bench.
Last week, The Star profiled Justice Sharon Lee.
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Pennsylvania state Sen. Doug Mastriano (R-Gettysburg) on Thursday announced he will soon introduce legislation to strengthen penalties for fentanyl pushers whose sales result in deadly overdoses.
The senator is naming his measure “Tyler’s Law” after Tyler Shanafelter, an 18-year-old constituent who bought what he believed was Percocet but turned out to have acquired a fentanyl-laced product. The young man fatally overdosed.
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Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed a bill into law that increases penalties for those who illegally sell and distribute opioids in Florida. It expands on a statewide strategy launched in 2019 to combat the opioid epidemic through education, treatment, prevention, recovery and law enforcement efforts.
“Floridians of all walks of life have witnessed the destruction caused by the opioid epidemic across our state,” DeSantis said. “While the Biden administration has failed to stop the flow of dangerous drugs, including fentanyl, across our southern border, we are taking action in Florida to lower both the demand and the supply of illicit and illegal drugs.”
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FBI data currently indicate that Pennsylvania’s violent crime rate exceeds any other northeastern state’s, and a county prosecutor told state senators this week he attributes much of that reality to difficulty recruiting and retaining police officers.
Cambria County District Attorney Gregory Neugebauer testified before the Senate Republican Policy Committee alongside other law-enforcement professionals to illuminate what is driving up crime in the Keystone State and what can be done about it. The hearing, held at the Cambria County Courthouse in Ebensberg, was the first of several the panel is hosting this week to address crime prevention in conjunction with National Crime Victims’ Rights Week.
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Ohio’s top attorney this week is warning residents of a new class of designer drugs that are more deadly than fentanyl.
“Frankenstein opioids are even more lethal than the drugs already responsible for so many overdose deaths,” Attorney General Dave Yost said in a press release. “Law enforcement and the public need to pay attention to these emerging hazards.”
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Jurors in Florida heard opening arguments Monday in the civil case against pharmacy chain Walgreens over its marketing and distribution of opiods.
The lawsuit was filed by Florida Attorney General Ashley Moody.
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In conjunction with Franklin County, the city of Columbus is inviting opioid-addicted residents to order free naloxone, also known as Narcan, to help them reverse overdoses.
“Narcan distribution is part of our comprehensive programming to address the addiction crisis – and it is highly effective,” Columbus’ Director of Communications Kelli Newman told The Ohio Star. “Last year, through the Columbus & Franklin County Addiction Plan, we provided 24,144 Narcan kits (48,244 doses) and conducted 624 community trainings. As a result of Narcan being dispensed by bystanders, friends and family members, there were 3,699 overdose reversals in our community last year. Simply put, Narcan saves lives.”
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A Tennessee nurse practitioner could face decades in prison after being arrested for illegally prescribing opioids at the Convenient Care Clinic in West Tennessee, which she owned and operated.
Kelly McCallum, a Dyersburg resident, allegedly dished out millions of opioid pills to patients of the clinic, even those with whom she shared a personal connection with.
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Arizona Attorney General Mark Brnovich joined “Fox News Live” Sunday to discuss the impact of the border crisis, which has drastically worsened since President Joe Biden took office.
“We start talking about these numbers and we forget that there is human cost,” Brnovich said. “We know now that in places like Pima County, the second-largest county in Arizona that fentanyl and opioid deaths are the number one cause of people under 19 dying. More so than car accidents, and other causes.”
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Texas Republican Congressman Chip Roy is calling for the impeachment of President Joe Biden and the impeachment of Homeland Security Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas, citing their “reckless immigration policy” that many lawmakers argue is endangering the lives of Texans and Americans.
“Total encounters: 205,029. Total known getaways: 37,400. 1.3 million for 2021 so far. Largest monthly encounter number since 2000,” Roy tweeted.
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Michigan could receive $800 million under a proposed multibillion-dollar national opioid settlement, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said.
The settlement would involve Johnson & Johnson and the three largest pharmaceutical distributors in the country: Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen.
The historic agreement would resolve the claims of state and local governments nationwide and require industry changes.
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According to Tennessee Attorney General Herbert Slatery III, Food City unlawfully prescribed opioids solely for profit for well over a decade. Slatery asserted that the grocery chain violated the Tennessee Consumer Protection Act, the public nuisance statute at three of its stores, and the common law by endangering public health.
The attorney general documented these alleged abuses in a complaint totaling just over 200 pages. Accusations included: ignoring or attenuating reports of suspicious prescribers, and fulfilling those prescriptions even after the prescribers were raided, disciplined, arrested, or indicted; selling the opioids to drug trafficking ring members; issuing a rewards card for frequent opioid buyers, making it more accessible and affordable to criminals; pressuring employees to increase opioid sales; illegally and secretly transferring opioids throughout the chain to subvert supplier thresholds; continuing the sale of opioids despite multiple instances of overdoses on property; and selling massive opioid quantities to individuals from foreign countries or far-away states.
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Monday morning on the Tennessee Star Report, host Michael Patrick Leahy welcomed Tennessee (R) State Senator Janice Bowling to the newsmakers line to talk about her proposed bills addressing vaccine mandates and medical cannabis.
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The architect of a Detroit-based drug ring described by many former customers as the “McDonald’s for drugs” was sentenced to 30 years in federal prison last Friday.
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An undercover operation in Duluth resulted in the arrest of two men who were in possession of enough fentanyl to kill more than 26,000 people.
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Mount Carmel Health System CEO Ed Lamb announced Thursday that he’s terminated the employment of 23 individuals and will resign at the end of the month after a former doctor was charged with 25 counts of murder. “This was a difficult decision, but one that is in the best interest of our organization, our colleagues and the people we serve,” Lamb said in a press release. He also revealed that the employment of “23 colleagues, including 5 physician, nursing and pharmacy management team members” was terminated effective immediately. As The Ohio Star previously reported, Dr. William Husel was charged June 6 with 25 counts of murder for ordering “excessive and potentially fatal doses” of fentanyl for former patients. It’s reportedly one of the largest murder cases ever brought against a medical provider in America, and the largest Franklin County Prosecutor Ron O’Brien has seen in his 45-year career in the area. O’Brien said that each count in the indictment alleges that Husel “purposely caused the death” of all 25 patients. The indictment goes on to accuse Husel of ordering fentanyl doses ranging from 500 to 2000 micrograms and administering them to patients, which “shortened their life and hastened or…
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Alandre J. Gillbreath of Springfield, Ohio was sentenced to five years in prison Tuesday for possession with intent to distribute enough carfentanil to kill 700 people. According to the United States Attorney’s Office of the Southern District of Ohio, Gillbreath was arrested in May 2017 when police officers responded to a report of a residential break-in and found him standing on the porch of the house. Gillbreath then reportedly removed a plastic baggie from his pocket and threw it into the yard. “Officers picked up the bag, and forensic analysis at the Bureau of Criminal Investigation determined it contained 16.28 grams of a mixture of fentanyl and carfentanil. This amount is a quantity intended for distribution,” U.S. Attorney Benjamin Glassman said in a press release. As The Ohio Star previously reported, Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner Thomas Gilson issued a public health warning in February after discovering a “significant increase” in the presence of carfentanil throughout the area. An analogue of fentanyl, the drug is 10,000 times more potent than morphine and is used as a tranquilizer of large animals, according to the DEA. “Powerful opioids, such as carfentanil, will continue to be a serious threat to America and Ohio as…
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Democratic Ohio Senator Sherrod Brown joined a bipartisan group of six Senators Thursday to introduce a bill that would sanction any country involved in the trafficking of illegal opioids into the United States. According to the U.S Department of Justice and Drug Enforcement Administration’s 2018 National Drug Assessment, synthetic opioids, specifically fentanyl, secretly created and trafficked into the United States is “responsible for the ongoing fentanyl epidemic.” The majority of these opioids are produced in China and then trafficked into America through Mexico, making these two countries primarily responsible for the current US epidemic. They noted these drugs are “now the most lethal category of opioids used in the United States…Fentanyl suppliers will continue to experiment with new fentanyl-related substances and adjust supplies in attempts to circumvent new regulations imposed by the United States, China, and Mexico.” Because of this, the highest quality of fentanyl carries the street name: “China White.” S.1044. “A bill to impose sanctions with respect to foreign traffickers of illicit opioids, and for other purposes” intent, per the summary message provided by the bill’s sponsors: This targeted sanctions legislation would give U.S. law enforcement and sanctions officials more tools to combat the trafficking of opioids into the…
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The Ohio Bureau of Workers’ Compensation voted Friday to no longer prescribe the powerful opioid Oxycontin to workers injured on the job. According to a Friday press release from the BWC, Chief Medical Officer Terry Welsh recommended that the drug be phased out of the organization’s formulary (a list of drugs the BWC will cover when prescribed), and the Board of Directors voted in favor of following his directive. Oxycontin will be replaced with Xtampza ER, which Welsh called “an equally effective but harder-to-abuse drug.” “Xtampza is a sustained-release form of oxycodone, like Oxycontin, but it utilizes a unique abuse-deterrent technology that makes it difficult to manipulate—crush, snort or inject—for aberrant use,” Welsh elaborated. “Thanks to technology, this just seems like the next responsible step to protect our injured workers from potential addiction and overdose death to dangerous drugs.” Oxycontin will be phased out of BWC’s system staring July 1, a move that also follows the recommendation of BWC’s Pharmacy and Therapeutics Committee. The establishment of that committee was one of several precautionary steps the BWC took to “mitigate the opioid epidemic’s impact on Ohio’s workforce,” the press release states. Gov. Mike DeWine (R-OH) applauded the BWC’s decision, calling it…
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Alphabet Inc., the multinational conglomerate that both was established by and currently owns Google.com, has announced that they will be establishing an opioid treatment center in Dayton, Ohio. While this could be good news for a community that is still deeply in the midst of an opioid epidemic, the recent revelations about data collection by Google and other digital tech companies raise questions about the new treatment center. The effort, dubbed OneFifteen, will be headed by Andy Conrad, Ph.D. (pictured above) and housed in a new “tech enabled campus.” It will be an initiative of Verily, the development wing of Alphabet that deals with life sciences. The new facility was announced Wednesday in a blog post on the company website. The post points out the alarming statistics regarding opioid abuse and the intent of this new campus to treat these problems. It also explicitly notes that one of the biggest challenges to healthcare is a severe lack of data, most notably the data gaps. While this is undoubtedly accurate, there are many concerns with greater data aggregation. In recent years, data companies have proven themselves to be at best wildly irresponsible and at worst explicitly malicious in aggregating and then selling the personal data of individuals. The notion of this…
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by Amanda Hagstrom America’s heroin and cocaine addicts are turning to test strips in the search to combat the increasing rate fatal, fentanyl-induced overdoses. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid potent enough to kill an adult male with just two milligrams, or land someone in the hospital if a fan so much as blows it on them. If a heroin addict unknowingly purchases fentanyl-laced product, he will likely overdose. This reality has lead to massive increases in fatal overdose deaths across the country since 2016, but new test strips can allow addicts and doctors to verify easily that their drugs are free of fentanyl before using, The Wall Street Journal reported Monday. “This is an effective way to have people thinking about risks,” Louise Vincent, executive director of the Greensboro, N.C., chapter of the advocacy group Urban Survivors Union, told WSJ. “It’s so important to give people as many tools as we can.” States such as California and Rhode Island have been distributing the tests for nearly two years, with several cities in Ohio, Maryland and Pennsylvania following suit. The strips work much like pregnancy tests, requiring users to dip them in water mixed with tiny amounts of heroin or…
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WASHINGTON — In a move to address the nation’s deadly opioid crisis, the Justice Department says it will target the prescription drug pipeline with a new focus on companies that manufacture and distribute the drugs.
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Saying the American medical system is flooded with too many prescription painkillers, governors, lawmakers and health officials are trying to come up with ways to cut down on the amount of pills that reach the hands of patients. It’s part of the all-of-the-above strategy to combat the opioid epidemic, joining treatment and public awareness campaigns. The…
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The Shelby County Commission and Shelby County sued several pharmaceutical companies in Shelby County Circuit Court on Thursday, alleging illegal abuse in their manufacture, sale, and distribution of opioids. “It’s not just the drug companies. It’s also the distributors, including pharmacies and the doctors writing the prescription that are being sued,” Heidi Shafer, chairman of the Shelby County Commission tells The Tennessee Star in an exclusive interview. “The lawsuit is very narrowly tailored only to go after those who are abusing,” Shafer adds. “About 80 counties around the country are already suing the companies involved in opioid abuse,” Shafer says. Last month, President Trump declared the epidemic of opioid addiction to be a public health emergency. “President Donald J. Trump is mobilizing his entire Administration to address drug addiction and opioid abuse by directing the declaration of a Nationwide Public Health Emergency to address the opioids crisis,” the White House said in a statement released on October 26. “The lawsuit against several pharmaceutical companies was filed at 9 Thursday morning on behalf of the County, but the issue won’t go before the full County Commission until next week,”WREG reported: Shelby County Mayor Mark Luttrell, who says his administration was already working…
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by Jeffrey A. Rendall Sometimes the solution to a crisis is so obvious that we feel foolish when failing to immediately recognize it. And sometimes it’s not so plain. Such is the case for the opioid epidemic in America. For those in need of explanation, “opioid” means “naturally occurring opium-containing substance” – any opium-containing substance that is produced naturally in the brain. It can also mean “similar to opium” – similar in effect or properties to opium but not derived from opium. A good many of us first learned about opioid dependency during the 2016 campaign when the issue was raised time and again with questions posed to candidates of both parties at virtually every stop – especially in New Hampshire. Drug addiction is hardly obscure but it’s not necessarily something you expect to concentrate on alongside tax proposals and foreign policy visions from stumping politicians. Both Carly Fiorina and Ted Cruz relayed stories about losing someone close to them because of addiction so they spoke from the heart as well as experience when discussing the necessity to help those who need it the most — but how to do it? The federal role in the so-called “War on…
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