opioids

Tennessee Republican gubernatorial candidates have passed limited legislation during their tenures. State Rep. Monty Fritts sponsored a controversial 'chemtrails' bill criticized as 'nonsense,' while U.S. Sen. Marsha Blackburn co-sponsored a bill linked to opioid distribution. U.S. Rep. John Rose proposed repealing a provision allowing senators to sue the government over FBI data subpoenas.

Deanna Loper, a 30-year-old Wilkesboro woman, was arrested in Ashe County for allegedly trafficking 8.4 grams of buprenorphine, a lethal opioid, and faces two felony charges. Her bond was set at $500,000, and she is being held at Catawba County Jail.

Alcohol-related deaths in the U.S. exceed those from all illicit drugs combined, yet the issue remains under-addressed. Emergency department visits linked to alcohol nearly doubled between 2003 and 2022, with alcohol-related hospitalizations outpacing those from opioids in many states.

Rowan County has seen an increase in overdoses and is ranked 2nd in the state for fentanyl deaths. Health officials are warning about opioid and fentanyl use.

Anoka County is seeking to adopt the Randox Evidence Multistat device to rapidly detect drugs in forensic samples, reducing analysis time from six weeks to 30 minutes. The Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office director, Shane Sheets, applied for a $1.5 million U.S. Department of Justice grant to purchase the technology, aiming to provide faster results for law enforcement and public health alerts on opioid trends.

A study suggests that antidepressants and antipsychotics could serve as pain relief alternatives to opioids in emergency departments. The research reviewed non-opioid medications available at San Francisco General Hospital and analyzed existing medical literature to identify potential options for treating pain without opioids' addictive risks.

Spotify removed over 57,000 opioid-related podcasts after a Business Insider investigation, as criticized by US Senator Maggie Hassan for not reporting to law enforcement. Spotify claims the content was part of spam operations targeting search rankings, not direct drug sales.

A study of over 600,000 U.S. veterans found that GLP-1 drugs like semaglutide are associated with reduced risks of developing substance use disorders involving alcohol, nicotine, cannabis, cocaine, opioids, and other drugs. These medications also correlate with fewer overdoses, hospitalizations, emergency visits, and drug-related deaths among individuals already struggling with addiction.