New test strips, when dipped in the residue of cooked heroin or when a little water is added to empty bags of cocaine, will tell a user if the drug is laced with fentanyl. One line indicates that the drugs are positive for fentanyl. Two lines mean the result is negative.
Drug Abuse Resistance Education program (D.A.R.E.) is tackling the nationwide opioid crisis by including it in its curriculum for the first time. The well-known anti-drug program delivered in schools now offers a new section on opioid and prescription drug abuse.
A Connecticut taskforce originally approved by Democratic Governor Dannel P. Malloy during the 2018 legislative session recommended against establishing special courts for those addicted to opioids. The panel cited already established programs as sufficient for fighting against the epidemic.
Researchers suspect Massachusett’s opioid epidemic and an increase in Medicare coverage has caused an uptick in the state’s homeless population seeking medical care.
Maryland had 48,000 opioid overdose deaths in 2017, and by July 1, 2018, 483 people in Baltimore had died of overdoses. This makes it one of the hardest hit states in the U.S.
The CDC has confirmed that the synthetic opioid, fentanyl, is currently the deadliest drug in the United States. In Oregon, specifically, law enforcement officials are combating a 91 percent increase in fentanyl deaths between 2016 and 2017.
While opioids are in the limelight, researchers have found that meth has become more popular than heroin overall.
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