opioid crisis
White House, Pennsylvania senator urge Congress to pass emergency anti-opioid funding
WASHINGTON — The Biden administration’s top drug policy expert and Pennsylvania Democratic U.S. Sen. Bob Casey on Wednesday pressed Congress to approve billions in emergency funding to address opioid addiction. “We still have a ways to go to get it through the heads of people here in Washington about how important it is to vote […]
Opioid-treatment maker settles with Ohio for $6 million
A maker of a common treatment for opioid addiction — Suboxone — has agreed to settle antitrust complaints by 41 state attorneys general for $102.5 million, Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost announced Friday. Ohio will get just under $6 million. The states claimed that Suboxone manufacturer Indivior made minor changes to its product to keep […]
Measure decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips headed for Ohio House floor
An Ohio House committee has given the go-ahead to a measure decriminalizing the possession of fentanyl testing strips. Current law classifies test strips as drug paraphernalia. The bill’s sponsor, state Rep. Kristin Boggs, D-Columbus, described the change as “one more avenue” to avoid overdose when she introduced the bill in May. Many people would test […]
Doctors rush to use Supreme Court ruling to escape opioid charges
Dr. Nelson Onaro conceded last summer that he’d written illegal prescriptions, although he said he was thinking only of his patients. From a tiny, brick clinic in Oklahoma, he doled out hundreds of opioid pills and dozens of fentanyl patches with no legitimate medical purpose. “Those medications were prescribed to help my patients, from my […]
Indigent burial program may see more action amid opioid epidemic, COVID-19 pandemic
A state program to help those who can’t afford to bury their loved ones might see more action than usual, and cause the need for re-education for townships that have to pay for these burials. The Indigent Burial and Cremation program works with townships and municipalities to reimburse some of the costs of funeral disposition. […]