District to distribute more naloxone to combat opioid overdoses

The District will increase its supply of naloxone, the drug used to reverse opioid overdoses, in an attempt to curb the growing number of opioid-related deaths, city officials said Friday. The D.C. Department of Health distributed 1,000 naloxone kits in 2016 as part of a pilot program, which prevented at least 290 residents from fatally […]

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Progress against Chinese chemists selling dangerous synthetic drugs in US

China’s ban on certain chemicals is being credited by Drug Enforcement Administration officials in a noticeable decrease in certain synthetic drugs in the United States. Police encounters with six substances that were part of China’s 115-chemical ban have dropped dramatically (PDF) since it took effect in October, DEA numbers show. […]

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Heroin Laced with Elephant Tranquilizer Hits the Streets

Source: CNN The American heroin epidemic has become more dangerous, as reports of heroin laced with carfentanil are being reported throughout the country. Carfentanil is the most potent opioid used commercially, 10,000 times stronger than morphine. It is a version of fentanyl, the painkiller that most recently made headlines with its role in the death […]

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ER Visits for Heroin Overdoses Spike in Virginia

Virginia’s emergency rooms are seeing a dramatic spike this year in the number of patients seeking treatment for heroin overdoses, state data shows. The state’s emergency departments reported nearly 500 visits in the first four months of 2016 with unintentional heroin overdose as the primary complaint or diagnosis at discharge, according to data provided to […]

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D.C. Hospitals to Test Anyone With Synthetic Drug Use Symptoms

NBC4 in D.C. reports that due to a spike in hospital visits for suspected synthetic drug overdoses, D.C. hospitals will now do blood and urine tests on anyone who appears to have taken the dangerous drugs. The emergency rules, that went into effect the first week of August, 2015, require hospitals to collect blood and urine samples […]

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