EVERETT, Wash. — Officials are sounding alarms after a baby died and two others apparently also overdosed in the past week in separate instances in which fentanyl was left unsecured inside residences, authorities said. A 911 caller on Wednesday afternoon reported that a 13-month-old baby was not breathing in an apartment in Everett, the Daily … Read more
Beijing — U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken met Friday with Chinese President Xi Jinping and senior Chinese officials, warning of the dangers of misunderstandings and miscalculations as the United States and China butted heads over a number of contentious bilateral, regional and global issues. Blinken met with Xi in Beijing after holding talks with … Read more
More than one in four deaths among young Canadians between 2019 and 2021 were opioid-related, with the COVID-19 pandemic and the increased use of fentanyl potentially playing significant roles, according to new research. A study published Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal (CMAJ) found that during the same years, premature deaths related to opioids … Read more
MEXICO CITY — A report released by the Mexican government Friday says the country is facing a dire shortage of fentanyl for medical use, even as Mexican cartels pump out tons of the illicit narcotic. The paradox was reported in a study by Mexico’s National Commission on Mental Health and Addictions. The study did not … Read more
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 fentanyl at their home in a small … Read more
Colorado law enforcement warning about opioid recently showing up in overdose toxicology reports Colorado law enforcement warning about opioid recently showing up in overdose toxicology reports 01:13 London — As authorities clamp down on fentanyl distribution and the amount of heroin produced in Afghanistan decreases under the Taliban, criminal enterprises have turned to a deadly alternative. … Read more
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A federal appeals court asked West Virginia’s highest court Monday whether opioid distributions can cause a public nuisance as it reviews a landmark lawsuit against three major U.S. drug distributors accused of causing a health crisis in one of the state’s counties. In July 2022, a federal judge in Charleston, West Virginia, … Read more
WASHINGTON — Vice President Kamala Harris and rapper Fat Joe led a White House discussion Friday on easing marijuana penalties, with Harris saying it’s “absurd” that the federal government classifies marijuana as more dangerous than fentanyl, the synthetic opioid blamed for tens of thousands of deaths annually the United States. Harris, a former state prosecutor … Read more
Colorado lawmakers target another $5 million for Denver Health amid fears of hospital’s “death spiral” A bipartisan group of Colorado lawmakers is again moving to direct a special $5 million infusion to Denver Health amid rising concerns about the hospital’s financial security and fears of a potential descent into a “death spiral.” Members of the … Read more
BELLINGHAM, Wash. — Evelyn Jefferson walks deep into a forest dotted with the tents of unhoused Lummi Nation tribal members and calls out names. When someone appears, she and a nurse hand out the opioid overdose reversal medication naloxone. Jefferson, a tribal member herself, knows how critical these kits are: Just five months ago, her … Read more
