Oregon has made possessing small amounts of hard drugs a crime again after a failed experiment with decriminalization.
Governor Tina Kotek, a Democrat, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/oregon-drug-recriminalization-law-signed-governor-96e36ed60e999572bbf47c160b412a73" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> a bill into law on Monday that makes personal use possession a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail.
The new bill rolls back Measure 110, which was approved by about 58% of Oregon voters in 2020, and scrapped criminal charges for possessing small amounts of any drug, even hard drugs like fentanyl. The measure was the first of its kind in the country.
Instead of criminal penalties, offenders were hit with a maximum fine of $100 that was rarely enforced. Drug users could also get their fine dismissed if they called a hotline to get an addiction screening, but in the law’s first year, only 1% of people who received tickets for drug possession called the hotline, <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/ap/ap-health/ap-oregons-first-in-the-nation-drug-decriminalization-law-faces-growing-pushback-amid-fentanyl-crisis/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to state auditors.
In the years since Measure 110 took effect, however, the law has become increasingly unpopular as residents deal with public drug use in their daily lives.
Two years later, more than 6 in 10 voters said they thought decriminalization has made drug addiction, homelessness, and crime worse in Oregon, according to a May <a href="https://www.dhmresearch.com/oregon-voters-support-bringing-back-criminal-penalties-for-drug-possession/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">survey</a> from DMH Research. A combined 63% said they “strongly” supported or would be “somewhat” interested in once again criminalizing hard drugs.
Meanwhile, fatal drug overdoses in Oregon have spiked, driven by the fentanyl crisis.
The state is on track for 1,250 overdose deaths last year, <a href="https://www.opb.org/article/2024/01/28/data-show-overdoses-deaths-rising-in-oregon/#:~:text=In%202019%2C%20280%20people%20died,year%2C%20reaching%20628%20in%20June." target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to data that is still being compiled. This is a stark rise from the 280 people who died of an overdose back in 2019.
Some of the worst scenes of the drug crisis come out of Portland, where addicts shoot up daily in broad daylight downtown.
In September, the Portland City Council passed a ban on using hard drugs on public property.
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However, Portland&#8217;s new rules have been in limbo while drugs were still decriminalized at the state level.
Mayor Ted Wheeler, another Democrat, has expressed support for Oregon&#8217;s new law, which takes effect on September 1.
&#8220;People are exhausted from feeling like they’re under siege. They want order restored to their environment,&#8221; Wheeler <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2024/04/01/us/oregon-drug-law-portland-mayor.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
Although the new state law brings back criminal penalties for drug possession, it also encourages law enforcement to establish programs to send drug users to addiction and mental health services rather than the criminal justice system if possible.

US-HEALTH-DRUGS-OREGON

Oregon Recriminalizes Drug Possession

Drugs

Fentanyl

General

Opioid Crisis

Oregon

Portland

U.S.

Prescriptions for the psychedelic drug ketamine are soaring as doctors become more reluctant to prescribe highly addictive opioids for pain management.
More doctors are <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketamine-pain-drugs-psychedelic-fda-2c67eeac1932962a7b0affc07d24c09a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">prescribing</a> ketamine for pain as well as anxiety and depression, causing demand for the drug to spike more than 500% since 2017, according to Epic Research, which looked at data from more than 125 million patients. Pain was the number one reason ketamine was prescribed for each year since 2017, although ketamine prescriptions for depression have been on the rise as well.
The rise in prescriptions has even caused shortages of manufactured ketamine, leading to higher sales of compounded versions. The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-warns-patients-and-health-care-providers-about-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">warned</a> against compounded versions of ketamine last month, saying the agency cannot guarantee their safety.
Ketamine is an attractive alternative to opioids in part because it is cheap and can be prescribed by some nurses as well as doctors. It can also be prescribed over telehealth and sent through the mail. The drug sells for less than $100 a vial, and physicians can charge $500 to $1500 per IV infusion.
However, there is limited research on the drug&#8217;s effectiveness for pain management, and experts worry that doctors may overprescribe it in the same way opioids were overprescribed, ultimately leading to the opioid crisis.
“There’s a paucity of options for pain and so there’s a tendency to just grab the next thing that can make a difference,” Dr. Padma Gulur, a Duke University pain specialist who is studying ketamine, <a href="https://apnews.com/article/ketamine-pain-drugs-psychedelic-fda-2c67eeac1932962a7b0affc07d24c09a" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> the Associated Press.
“A medical journal will publish a few papers saying, ‘Oh, look, this is doing good things,’ and then there’s rampant off-label use, without necessarily the science behind it,” Gulur said.
Patients on ketamine have reported hallucinations, troubling thoughts, and visual disturbances, according to research by Gulur and her colleagues that looked at 300 patients. One patient said the visual disturbances he experienced were “horrifying” but said he was willing to take ketamine &#8220;if it allows me to be more functional.&#8221;
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So far, there appears to be more evidence for ketamine&#8217;s use for treating depression than for pain. However, the neurological effects of long-term use need much more research as well — ketamine was <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/human-drug-compounding/fda-alerts-health-care-professionals-potential-risks-associated-compounded-ketamine-nasal-spray" target="_blank" rel="noopener">linked</a> to brain abnormalities in rat studies.
Ketamine was originally approved over half a century ago as a potent surgery anesthetic, and the FDA still has not approved any non-surgical uses of the drug.
Nevertheless, ketamine clinics offer IV ketamine infusions for things like alcohol addiction, chronic pain, anxiety, and post-traumatic stress disorder. Patients can also get ketamine nasal sprays or tablets to take between their IV appointments. Those alternative forms of the drug have little evidence, pain specialists say.
Meanwhile, the clinics compete for business with telehealth services like MindBloom that offer ketamine prescriptions through the mail.

CANADA-HEALTH-PSYCHEDELIC-THERAPY

Psychedelic Ketamine Prescriptions Soar As Treatment For Pain, Depression, Anxiety

Health

Prescription Drugs

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/health-care" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Rite Aid</a> reportedly plans to close hundreds of stores as it mulls how to get ahead of billions of dollars in debt and a slew of opioid-related lawsuits.
The pharmacy retail giant is looking at shuttering about 400 to 500 of its more than 2,100 stores in a bankruptcy process, The Wall Street Journal <a class="color-link" title="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rite-aid-planning-to-shut-down-hundreds-of-stores-in-bankruptcy-de7967db" href="https://www.wsj.com/articles/rite-aid-planning-to-shut-down-hundreds-of-stores-in-bankruptcy-de7967db" target="_blank" rel="nofollow noopener noreferrer" data-ga-track="ExternalLink:https://www.wsj.com/articles/rite-aid-planning-to-shut-down-hundreds-of-stores-in-bankruptcy-de7967db" aria-label="Wall Street Journal">reported</a>. Bondholders <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2023/09/27/drugstore-downsizing-cvs-walgreens-and-rite-aid-to-close-nearly-1500-stores/?sh=4ee32de6e560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reportedly</a> want to close even more stores.
Rite Aid has <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/09/22/rite-aid-proposes-closing-about-a-quarter-of-its-stores-in-bankruptcy-report-says/?sh=4ea53cfe5796" target="_blank" rel="noopener">proposed</a> either selling the stores or handing them over to creditors, the Journal reported, citing people familiar with the company&#8217;s bankruptcy negotiations.
The company is dealing with more than $3.3 billion in debt and more than a thousand federal lawsuits accusing Rite Aid of knowingly filling illegal opioid prescriptions.
One of those lawsuits <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-files-complaint-alleging-rite-aid-dispensed-controlled-substances-violation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">is from</a> the Justice Department, which alleges Rite Aid filled hundreds of thousands of illegal prescriptions, including those with &#8220;obvious red flags,&#8221; and intentionally deleted internal notes about suspicious prescribers.
“These practices opened the floodgates for millions of opioid pills and other controlled substances to flow illegally out of Rite Aid’s stores,” Associate Attorney General Vanita Gupta <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/united-states-files-complaint-alleging-rite-aid-dispensed-controlled-substances-violation" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in March when the suit was filed.
Rite Aid has denied the allegations.
“Given the conversations remain ongoing, no decisions have been made at this time and we are focused on reaching an agreement with our financial stakeholders that will make Rite Aid stronger,” a Rite Aid spokesperson said, Forbes <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoniopequenoiv/2023/09/22/rite-aid-proposes-closing-about-a-quarter-of-its-stores-in-bankruptcy-report-says/?sh=4ea53cfe5796" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a>.
Rite Aid has been plagued by stores failing to generate profits in recent years and has struggled to compete with bigger chains like CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart&#8217;s pharmacies.
Last year, Rite Aid <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/brucejapsen/2022/04/14/rite-aid-expects-more-closures-of-unprofitable-stores/?sh=389cded16585" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> it would close 145 “unprofitable stores” as part of a plan to “significantly reduce costs.”
CVS and Walgreens, which operate around 9,000 stores each, do not have the same slate of problems as Rite Aid, but both pharmacy chains are also working on closing locations.
CVS <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2021/11/18/investing/cvs-store-closures/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in 2021 that it would close 900 stores by 2024. The closures <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/11/18/cvs-store-closures-to-shut-about-300-stores-a-year-over-next-three-years.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">were set</a> to start in the spring of last year at a rate of about 300 per year.
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Walgreens <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/06/30/investing/walgreens-150-store-closings/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> in June that it plans to close 150 locations across the country and even more abroad to cut costs.
Rising retail theft is another factor for pharmacies. Theft cost the retail sector $112.1 billion last year, 19% higher than in 2021, <a href="https://nrf.com/media-center/press-releases/retail-crime-accounted-over-112-billion-industry-losses-2022-according" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to a National Retail Federation report.
Shoplifting has become rampant in some cities <a href="https://www.usatoday.com/story/money/retail/2023/09/27/retail-theft-lost-inventory-statistics-2022/70975031007/#" target="_blank" rel="noopener">like</a> Los Angeles, San Francisco, and New York, and pharmacies have been a common target since the riots of 2020.
Some drug stores <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2023/09/27/drugstore-downsizing-cvs-walgreens-and-rite-aid-to-close-nearly-1500-stores/?sh=4ee32de6e560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">resorted</a> to putting products in transparent locked cases. However, this tactic often results in a sales drop of 15% to 25%, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/laurendebter/2022/04/02/stores-locking-things-up-rising-theft/?sh=67d4042511ca" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the head of a company that sold security devices to Walgreens.
The security devices are an inconvenience since they require customers to flag down an employee and rely on them to unlock the product. They also indicate to customers that the store might not be safe.
Other factors are disrupting the chain pharmacy business model as well, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/pamdanziger/2023/09/27/drugstore-downsizing-cvs-walgreens-and-rite-aid-to-close-nearly-1500-stores/?sh=4ee32de6e560" target="_blank" rel="noopener">including</a> a rise in independent pharmacies, pharmacies in grocery stores, and online prescription filling.

In this photo illustration the stock trading graph of Rite

Rite Aid To Shutter Hundreds Of Stores In Bankruptcy: Report

Big Pharma

Business

Economy

Health Care

A cheap, flesh-rotting horse tranquilizer that is flooding into the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">illegal drug market</a> in the U.S. has the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) alarmed.
Xylazine, called &#8220;tranq&#8221; on the street, is mass-manufactured in China and has recently proliferated on the streets of San Francisco, Philadelphia, and New York.
The &#8220;zombie drug&#8221; causes skin lesions that look like flesh is being eaten off, sometimes down to the bone, and can slow a person’s heart and breathing until they stop, leaving users catatonic or dead.
Drug dealers frequently mix Xylazine with fentanyl to prolong the high, creating a potentially deadly cocktail, but &#8220;tranq&#8221; is often mixed with other drugs like meth and cocaine as well.
The DEA said Xylazine is making an already deadly drug crisis even more dangerous.
“Xylazine is making the deadliest drug threat our country has ever faced, fentanyl, even deadlier,” <a href="https://www.dea.gov/alert/dea-reports-widespread-threat-fentanyl-mixed-xylazine" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> DEA Administrator Anne Milgram in a public safety alert.
Milgram said the DEA has seized xylazine and fentanyl mixtures in 48 states.
In 2022, the DEA found xylazine in about 23% of the fentanyl powder and 7% of the fentanyl pills seized by the agency.
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Users face a higher risk of fatally overdosing when fentanyl is mixed with &#8220;tranq,&#8221; the DEA said.
&#8220;People who inject drug mixtures containing xylazine also can develop severe wounds, including necrosis—the rotting of human tissue—that may lead to amputation,&#8221; the DEA said.
In the three and a half years from January 2019 to June 2022, the number of fentanyl deaths each month that involved xylazine spiked from about 2.9% to 10.9% in 20 states and the District of Columbia, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/volumes/72/wr/mm7226a4.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> in June.
Narcan, the emergency opioid reverse medicine, does not work on &#8220;tranq&#8221; since xylazine is not an opioid. The DEA still recommends administering Narcan in an overdose situation in case they have ingested other drugs.
Routine toxicology screens do not detect xylazine either, <a href="https://www.fda.gov/drugs/drug-safety-and-availability/fda-alerts-health-care-professionals-risks-patients-exposed-xylazine-illicit-drugs" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to the Food and Drug Administration&#8217;s (FDA) November alert to healthcare professionals about xylazine.
&#8220;Xylazine is not safe for use in humans and may result in serious and life-threatening side effects that appear to be similar to those commonly associated with opioid use, making it difficult to distinguish opioid overdoses from xylazine exposure,&#8221; the FDA said.
&#8220;Tranq&#8221; is also not currently a federally controlled substance, making it more easily available for purchase than illicit drugs like heroin, although some states have implemented restrictions.
Earlier this year, lawmakers <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2023/03/29/health/xylazine-tranq-controlled-substance/index.html" target="_blank" rel="noopener">introduced</a> bipartisan legislation in Congress that would have classified xylazine as a Schedule III drug under the Controlled Substances Act, but so far no such legislation has passed.
Ohio decided to take action on its own to crack down on &#8220;tranq.&#8221;
In March, Republican Governor Mike DeWine <a href="https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/OHIOGOVERNOR/2023/03/29/file_attachments/2451030/Signed%20EO%202023-08D.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">signed</a> an executive order classifying xylazine as a Schedule III controlled substance.
Major cities on both the East and West coasts are scrambling to address the presence of &#8220;tranq&#8221; on their streets.
&#8220;Tranq&#8221; recently hit the streets of New York with “astonishing” speed, <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/xylazine-hitting-new-york-city-with-astonishing-speed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to law enforcement.
This week, San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria held a press conference where city leaders addressed the dangers of xylazine on the street.
“If it is anything like fentanyl, just a few years ago we only had a handful of fentanyl overdose cases and now we have hundreds. We hope that we don’t have something similar with tranq,” Gloria <a href="https://www.nbcsandiego.com/news/local/san-diego-leaders-address-looming-threat-of-new-street-drug-tranq/3266730/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.

Homelessness and the opioid crisis in Philadelphia

Flesh-Rotting Zombie Drug ‘Tranq’ Has DEA Alarmed

Flesh-Rotting Zombie Drug 'Tranq' Has DEA Alarmed

New York

Philadelphia

San Francisco

A top official at the Drug Enforcement Administration has stepped down after reports indicated that he previously engaged in consulting work for the pharmaceutical industry. 
Louis Milione, who was appointed in August 2021 to be principal deputy administrator, the agency’s second-ranking position, resigned after the Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/opioids-oxycontin-fentanyl-purdue-pharma-dea-72726613cd30be246905fe1f171c2ed8" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> that Milione had consulted for several large pharmaceutical companies, including Purdue Pharma, a <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2021/09/01/health/purdue-sacklers-opioids-settlement.html#:~:text=Purdue%20Pharma%2C%20the%20maker%20of,address%20the%20deadly%20opioid%20epidemic." target="_blank" rel="noopener">defunct</a> company which was accused of helping to facilitate the opioid crisis. 
“Working for Purdue Pharma should not help you get a higher job in government,” Jeff Hauser, the executive director of the Revolving Door Project, told the AP. “Too much collegiality is a problem. It’s hard to view your past and potentially future colleagues as scofflaws. Any independent person would find this abhorrent.”
Milione first worked in the DEA from 1997 to 2017 before he left government work for the private sector. He was paid $600 an hour by Purdue Pharma to consult after they were sued by Ohio and Oklahoma over their marketing for the addictive painkiller OxyContin.
Other work in the pharmaceutical industry included giving testimony for drug wholesaler Morris &amp; Dickson, a company that faced scrutiny after a judge said it should lose its license to ship painkillers. The DEA did not move on that recommendation until four years later. 
In May, DEA Administrator Anne Milgram <a href="https://www.npr.org/2023/05/26/1178372700/dea-morris-dickson-drug-distributor-license-opioid-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a> the company failed to acknowledge &#8220;full extent of their wrongdoing &#8230; and the potential harm it caused.&#8221;
According to <a href="https://docs.house.gov/meetings/IF/IF14/20211202/114265/HHRG-117-IF14-Bio-MilioneL-20211202.pdf" target="_blank" rel="noopener">his bio</a> from the DEA, Milione “is a recognized expert on a broad range of issues, including transnational illicit networks, the diversion of pharmaceutical controlled substances, narco-terrorism, America’s opioid epidemic and the threat of synthetic drugs.”
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The resignation was reportedly due to personal reasons and not recent reports. “I care deeply about the DEA, its mission and the brave men and women that sacrifice so much to protect the American public,” Milione said in a statement. 
He was first brought in through a loophole that meant that he would not have to be confirmed by the Senate. Sen. Chuck Grassley (R-IA) said the news only raised more questions about the administration of the DEA. 
“DEA has demonstrated a willingness to take painstaking measures to avoid the Senate’s watchful eye – including by potentially using a technicality to shirk Senate confirmation of a key agency decision maker,” Grassley said. “Avoiding congressional oversight is a tired game the DEA can’t stop playing. It begs the question: What else is the DEA trying to hide?”

US-POLITICS-DEA

DEA Official Resigns After Reports On Former Big Pharma Consulting

This article is adapted from today’s Morning Wire Afternoon Update. To listen to the podcast version, click <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/podcasts/morning-wire" target="_blank" rel="noopener">here</a>.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/cnn-posts-recording-of-trump-allegedly-showing-secret-information-to-guests-trump-accuses-special-counsel-of-leak" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Trump Tape Leaked</a>
On Monday evening, CNN posted what it says is a recording that federal prosecutors included in their indictment of former President Donald Trump earlier this month. In the recording, Trump apparently shows “secret information” to a writer and a publisher. CNN obtained the alleged audio in which Trump is heard telling the pair — during an interview he knew was being recorded — that he was showing them “secret information.”
Critics, including Trump himself, say that the leak is a clear sign that the investigation into Trump is politically motivated.  We’ll have a full report on tomorrow’s morning wire. 
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/criminal-investigation-into-prigozhin-and-soldiers-who-mounted-rebellion-dropped" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Criminal Investigation Into Prigozhin And Soldiers Who Mounted Rebellion Dropped</a>
Russian investigators have formally closed a criminal investigation into mercenary soldier <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/who-are-yevgeny-prigozhin-and-wagner">Yevgeny Prigozhin</a> and his Wagner Group forces after their mutiny against President <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/vladimir-putin">Vladimir Putin</a>. 
Russia’s Federal Security Service (FSB) <a href="http://www.fsb.ru/fsb/press/message/single.htm%21id%3D10439759%40fsbMessage.html">announced</a> on Tuesday that since Prigozhin and his men had “ceased activities directed at committing the crime,” the criminal investigation into them would not be moving forward.  The Kremlin had previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/russia-drops-criminal-case-against-prigozhin-soldiers-who-participated-in-mutiny-will-not-be-punished">indicated</a> that the charges would be dropped, but the criminal case was not formally closed until Tuesday.  The news comes after Putin initially <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/putin-condemns-wagner-mutiny-as-stab-in-the-back-vows-punishment-for-rebellion">promised</a> punitive actions against those who challenged his authority by questioning the war in Ukraine and occupying a key Russian military headquarters.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/scotus-rules-against-gop-state-legislature-in-key-election-law-case" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Supreme Court Independent State Legislature Ruling </a>
The Supreme Court ruled  6-3 today, that state courts can act as a check on state legislatures regarding federal election issues, including electoral maps. Chief Justice John Roberts wrote for the court that “state courts retain the authority to apply state constitutional restraints when legislatures act under the power conferred upon them by the Elections Clause. But federal courts must not abandon their own duty to exercise judicial review.” 
We’ll have a full breakdown of how that could affect the 2024 election tomorrow morning.
<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/the-officer-said-f-doj-watchdogs-report-reveals-new-details-on-death-of-jeffrey-epstein" target="_blank" rel="noopener">DOJ&#8217;s Report On Epstein&#8217;s Death</a>
The U.S. The Department of Justice released a 120-page report after completing its investigation into the death of convicted pedophile Jeffrey Epstein. 
The DOJ investigation concluded that Epstein killed himself with help from “significant misconduct” on the part of the prison guards. Inspector General Michael Horowitz faulted 13 Bureau of Prisons employees with negligence and job failures, including failing to monitor Epstein, lying about it, allowing Epstein to have extra clothing in his cell, and failing to make sure he had a cellmate as recommended.
<a href="https://www.statista.com/chart/30287/share-of-drug-overdose-deaths-involving-synthetic-opioids-in-total-drug-overdose-deaths-in-the-us/?utm_source=Statista+Newsletters&amp;utm_campaign=f9cb27a1d2-All_InfographTicker_daily_COM_PM_KW26_2023_Mo_COPY&amp;utm_medium=email&amp;utm_term=0_662f7ed75e-f9cb27a1d2-349183577" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Fentanyl Driving Opioid Deaths</a>
In 2021, more than 106,000 Americans died from a drug-related overdose, and new data shows that two-thirds of those deaths were directly related to synthetic opioids — with fentanyl being the biggest culprit. For Americans under age 24, roughly 80 percent of overdose deaths were due to fentanyl and similar drugs.
To listen to the audio version of this podcast, <a href="https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/morning-wire/id1576594336" target="_blank" rel="noopener">click here</a>. And for more in-depth discussion of the biggest stories of the day, listen to the latest full episode of Morning Wire every morning.

Tuesday stock photo

Tuesday Afternoon Update: Trump Tape Leaked, DOJ’s Report On Epstein’s Death, Fentanyl Driving Opioid Overdoses

Tuesday Afternoon Update: Trump Tape Leaked, DOJ's Report On Epstein's Death, Fentanyl Driving Opioid Overdoses

Donald Trump

Jeffrey Epstein

Morning Wire

Podcast

Supreme Court

<a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/new-york" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York City</a> debuted a new vending machine Monday that provides free crack pipes, condoms, and Narcan for drug overdoses, among other items.
The big blue machine is the first of four vending machines that will be installed in some of New York&#8217;s most drug-infested neighborhoods, city health department officials <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/06/05/nyc-vending-machine-offers-free-narcan-drug-test-strips/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">said</a>.
The vending machines will offer “Safer Smoking” kits that include a crack pipe, mouthpiece, and lip balm for smoking crack and crystal meth, according to the New York Post. The machines also offer &#8220;Safer Sniffing kits&#8221; as well as the emergency overdose drug Naloxone (brand name Narcan) and drug-test strips that detect fentanyl.
People can also pick up other non-drug related items from the machine like condoms, tampons, nicotine gum and first-aid kits.
Drug addicts can access the free items by punching in their New York City zip code.
The machines cost the city $11,000.
City officials held a a press conference Monday next to one of the machines.
“We have a rising tide of fentanyl, and now we have other substances entering our drug supply, which is really putting us behind the eight ball,” Health Commissioner Dr. Ashwin Vasan said at the press conference.
Vasan cited Xylazine, known as “Tranq” or the &#8220;zombie drug,&#8221; a horse tranquilizer that causes skin lesions that look like flesh is being eaten off and can slow a person&#8217;s heart until it stops.
Drug dealers are reportedly mixing Xylazine with other drugs like meth, cocaine, and fentanyl to prolong the high. Xylazine previously proliferated on the streets of San Francisco and Philadelphia, but it has recently hit the streets of New York with &#8220;astonishing&#8221; speed, <a href="https://www.fox5ny.com/news/xylazine-hitting-new-york-city-with-astonishing-speed" target="_blank" rel="noopener">according</a> to law enforcement.
&#8220;We are in the midst of an overdose crisis in our city, which is taking a fellow New Yorker from us every three hours and is a major cause of falling life expectancy in NYC,&#8221; Vasan added in a statement.
Vasan said public health vending machines are &#8220;an innovative way to meet people where they are and to put life-saving tools like Naloxone in their hands.&#8221;
“This is an important arrow in our quiver,’’ Vasan said. “It’s not the be-all and end-all solution, but it’s an important tool that says to New Yorkers, ‘Hey, we are going to bring the tools that saves lives to you.’”
The first vending machine does not include syringes for drugs like heroin, but other machines may include them, Vasan said.
City officials said similar vending machines in Philadelphia and Nevada as well as Denmark in Europe and Australia have proven effective at lowering the overdose rate and spread of diseases.
Fatal overdose data for 2022 is still being compiled, but officials estimate 2022 may have been the deadliest year on record for drug overdose deaths.
There were 1,370 fatal overdoses in the city in just the first half of 2022.
In all of 2021, there were 2,668 overdose deaths in New York City, a record number.
In 2020, 2,103 people fatally overdosed in the city.
About 84% of those deaths involved an opioid, and 80% of them involved fentanyl, according to the NYC Department of Health. Fentanyl is a deadly synthetic opioid that is 100 times more potent than morphine and 50 times more potent than heroin.

Opioid Overdose Medicine Naxolone  Available Via Vending Machine In Brooklyn

NYC Vending Machines Provide Free Crack Pipes, Condoms, Narcan To Drug Users

Crime

Eric Adams

New York City

Senator <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/sherrod-brown" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Sherrod Brown</a> (D-OH) took hundreds of thousands of dollars from three drug companies at the center of the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/opioid-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">opioid epidemic</a> in the U.S.
According to FEC financial reports cited by the <a href="https://nypost.com/2023/05/05/ohio-democratic-senator-took-243k-from-opioid-giants-fec/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">New York Post</a>, Brown raked in more than $200,000 from political action committees associated with Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen since 2003. The three pharmaceutical giants paid out a $26 billion settlement to settle thousands of individual lawsuits from states and local governments. Ohio is also one of the states hardest hit by the opioid epidemic.
According to <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00264697&amp;committee_id=C00331694&amp;committee_id=C00690073&amp;contributor_name=C00108035&amp;contributor_name=C00332833&amp;contributor_name=C00400929" target="_blank" rel="noopener">FEC filings</a>, Brown took in a total of $144,500 in contributions to his campaign and leadership PAC, America Works PAC. He raised $85,000 from Cardinal Health, $56,500 from AmerisourceBergen, and $1,500 from McKesson. The latest donation was a $2,500 donation from Cardinal Health on September 21. The New York Post further reported that he took in $54,100 from lobbyists who worked for the three pharmaceutical distributors, including $5,600, the legal maximum, from a McKesson lobbyist in 2020 and again in 2021.
Separately, individual employees <a href="https://www.fec.gov/data/receipts/?data_type=processed&amp;committee_id=C00264697&amp;committee_id=C00331694&amp;committee_id=C00690073&amp;contributor_employer=cardinal+health" target="_blank" rel="noopener">donated</a> another $40,025. Cardinal Health Chief Information Officer Mark MacNaughton was a frequent small-dollar donor. Former Cardinal Health CEO George S. Barrett donated a total of $15,400 between 2011 and 2019, all in large amounts. Theodore Frank of McKesson donated $1,000 to his 2018 campaign. Rita Ersfeld Norton of AmerisourceBergen gave him $1,000 in 2017.
Together, Cardinal Health, McKesson, and AmerisourceBergen account for 90% of the U.S. supply chains for drugs and medical supplies. But the companies have allegedly been complicit in the proliferation of opioids; the New York Post reported that for more than a decade, the three pharma giants failed to track suspicious orders or increases in opioid use among purchasers, in spite of doctors potentially criminally overprescribing the drugs.
The three companies, along with Johnson &amp; Johnson, settled a $26 billion lawsuit with 49 states, the District of Columbia, U.S. territories, and thousands of municipalities in February 2022. In a <a href="https://www.mckesson.com/About-McKesson/Newsroom/Press-Releases/2022/Distributors-Approve-Opioid-Settlement-Agreement/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">joint statement</a> in February, the three companies announced that, beginning on April 2, 2022, they would pay out more than $19.5 billion over the next 18 years: Amerisource is set to pay out $6.1 billion; Cardinal Health, $6 billion; and McKesson, $7.4 billion. The settlement dealt with 46 of the 49 states; Alabama, Oklahoma, and Washington State refused the settlement. West Virginia settled previously. The Cherokee Nation also settled separately, and the remaining Native Americans had reached an agreement in principle at the time.
The New York Post also reported that the Drug Enforcement Administration settled a $150 million payout for violating federal controlled substance laws in 2017, the largest penalty in the DEA&#8217;s history.
Ohio had an estimated 5,068 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, the fifth-highest in the nation, according to the CDC&#8217;s <a href="https://www.cdc.gov/nchs/nvss/vsrr/drug-overdose-data.htm" target="_blank" rel="noopener">National Vital Statistics System</a>. The CDC reported 107,622 deaths from drug overdoses in 2021, the highest number on record, as The Daily Wire reported last year. The New York Times <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/record-number-of-americans-died-from-drug-overdoses-in-2021-cdc-data-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> at the time that synthetic opioids accounted for 71,000 deaths.
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In 2017, Brown himself <a href="https://twitter.com/SenSherrodBrown/status/922482085272674304" target="_blank" rel="noopener">called</a> the opioid crisis “one of biggest public health emergencies in my lifetime [and] all too often addiction starts in [the] medicine cabinet.”
Brown is running for a fourth term in the Senate in 2024. But he faces an uphill battle in a state that is rapidly turning red: former President Trump won the state by eight points in 2020; Republican Senator J.D. Vance won the state by six points in 2022. So far, State Senator Matt Dolan and businessman Bernie Moreno have entered the Republican primary.

Democratic Lawmakers Demand Senate Vote On House-Passed Bipartisan Background Checks Gun Control Act

Ohio Democrat Senator Took Thousands Of Dollars In Donations From Pharma Companies At Center Of Opioid Crisis

Ohio Democrat Senator Sherrod Brown Took Thousands Of Dollars In Donations From Pharma Companies At Center Of Opioid Crisis

Money In Politics

Ohio

Politics

Sherrod Brown

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved the first over-the-counter Narcan nasal spray to reduce drug overdose deaths driven by illicit opioids amid an ongoing epidemic largely fueled by the southern border crisis.
Federal officials approved Narcan, a naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray for over-the-counter, nonprescription use, as drug overdoses continue to plague the U.S, citing more than 101,750 people who died in a 12-month time frame from overdosing primarily on synthetic opioids like illicit fentanyl.
“Naloxone is a critical tool in addressing opioid overdoses and today’s approval underscores the extensive efforts the agency has undertaken to combat the overdose crisis,” Patrizia Cavazzoni, M.D., director of the FDA’s Center for Drug Evaluation and Research, said in a <a href="https://www.fda.gov/news-events/press-announcements/fda-approves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray">news release</a>.
Cavazzoni said that federal officials would work with sponsors seeking to market such nonprescription naloxone products, including through a [prescription] to OTC switch, and encourage manufacturers to contact the agency as early as possible to initiate discussions.
According to the FDA, manufacturers of Narcan must change the labeling for generic naloxone nasal spray products. They will be required to submit a supplement to their applications to receive over-the-counter approval.
The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported 107,735 Americans died between August 2021 and August 2022 from drug poisonings, with 66% of those deaths involving synthetic opioids like fentanyl, according to the news release.
The Associated Press <a href="https://apnews.com/article/naloxone-narcan-overdose-availability-ec12f62eef12ebc67de77afdbb6f11b9">reported</a> harm reduction groups have been urging the federal government to use federal funds to buy naloxone since 2016, while state officials have ordered pharmacies to sell it to customers, even without prescriptions.
Last month, Los Angeles Unified School District officials announced students could soon carry Narcan nasal spray at school in case of an opioid overdose.
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A report showed 92% of teens who died from drug overdoses in 2021 tested positive for fentanyl in Los Angeles County, with 31 directly related to the deadly opioid.
The Drug Enforcement Administration said last December that the agency seized enough fentanyl in 2022 to kill every American citizen. Officials said the DEA had confiscated some 50.6 million fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl and more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder with two weeks left in the calendar year 2022.
That amounts to more than 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl last year, more than enough to kill all 333 million people in the United States.
DEA authorities blamed the vast majority of fentanyl trafficked into the United States on the Sinaloa Cartel and Jalisco Cartel in Mexico, which primarily source the chemicals from China.

Forum to Address the Fentanyl  Issues at Northwood High School

FDA Approves First Over-The-Counter Narcan Nasal Spray Amid Ongoing Opioid Crisis

FDA Approves First Over-The-Counter Naloxone Nasal Spray Amid Ongoing Opioid Epidemic

Southern Border

The Drug Enforcement Administration said it seized enough <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/topic/fentanyl" target="_blank" rel="noopener">fentanyl</a> so far this year to kill every single American citizen.
In a press release Tuesday, the DEA said it had seized some 50.6 million fake prescription pills laced with fentanyl, along with more than 10,000 pounds of fentanyl powder, with two weeks left in calendar year 2022. That amounts to more than 379 million lethal doses of fentanyl so far this year, more than enough to kill every single citizen of the United States. There are 333 million people in the United States, according to the <a href="https://www.census.gov/popclock/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Census Bureau</a>.
“In the past year, the men and women of the DEA have relentlessly worked to seize over 379 million deadly doses of fentanyl from communities across the country,” DEA Administrator Anne Milgram said in a <a href="https://www.dea.gov/press-releases/2022/12/20/drug-enforcement-administration-announces-seizure-over-379-million-deadly" target="_blank" rel="noopener">statement</a>. “These seizures – enough deadly doses of fentanyl to kill every American – reflect DEA’s unwavering commitment to protect Americans and save lives, by tenaciously pursuing those responsible for the trafficking of fentanyl across the United States. DEA’s top operational priority is to defeat the two Mexican drug cartels—the Sinaloa and Jalisco (CJNG) Cartels—that are primarily responsible for the fentanyl that is killing Americans today.”
According to the press release, most of the fentanyl trafficked by the Sinaloa and Jalisco Cartels is mass-produced at secret Mexican factories with materials mostly sourced from China. Much of the drug is pressed into the shape of common prescription drugs that are used recreationally, such as OxyContin, Percocet, Xanax, and others. The counterfeit pills contain just fentanyl and a filler, and are often deadly. They are readily available on social media.
The DEA press release cautioned consumers to only ever take medications prescribed directly by a trusted physician and dispensed by a licensed pharmacist.
According to DEA laboratory tests, six out of ten counterfeit pills laced with fentanyl contained a potentially lethal dose. That was an increase from 2021, when four out of 10 pills the agency tested were found to contain a lethal dose.
According to <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/dea-issues-warning-over-emerging-trend-of-rainbow-fentanyl-across-u-s" target="_blank" rel="noopener">another press release</a> from the agency earlier this year, fentanyl is one of the strongest synthetic opioids in circulation; it is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times stronger than morphine. A lethal dose of fentanyl is just two milligrams, roughly equal to 10-15 grains of table salt. Without proper lab testing, it is impossible to tell how much fentanyl is concentrated in a particular pill or powder sample.
More than 107,000 Americans died of overdoses in 2021, according to data from the CDC — the <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/record-number-of-americans-died-from-drug-overdoses-in-2021-cdc-data-show" target="_blank" rel="noopener">largest number on record</a>. Synthetic opioids accounted for a large share (71,000) of the deaths, The New York Times reported. Furthermore, the nonprofit advocacy group <a href="https://twitter.com/FafFentanyl/status/1471270179783032833?s=20&amp;t=JMOmb9zR7aR_FWzya2kHyg" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Families Against Fentanyl</a> tweeted in December that buried in the CDC data is the fact that fentanyl specifically was the leading killer of Americans in the 18-45 age range.
Fortunately, researchers at the University of Houston have developed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/new-vaccine-targets-fentanyl-may-offer-route-back-to-sobriety" target="_blank" rel="noopener">vaccine</a> that could help fentanyl addicts beat addiction by preventing relapses.
“Our vaccine is able to generate anti-fentanyl antibodies that bind to the consumed fentanyl and prevent it from entering the brain, allowing it to be eliminated out of the body via the kidneys,” lead researcher Colin Haile said. “Thus, the individual will not feel the euphoric effects and can ‘get back on the wagon’ to sobriety.”

DEA Seized Enough Fentanyl In 2022 To Kill Every Single American, And Then Some

Population

Syringe with Pills Background

What Pediatric Gender Clinics Have In Common With Opioid ‘Pill Mills’

Puberty blockers

Readers Pass

Social Issues

Transgender

transgender surgery

CVS, Walmart, and Walgreens have agreed to a $13.8 billion opioid settlement to resolve thousands of nationwide lawsuits, according to a new report.
CVS will pay $5 billion over 10 years, Walgreens $5.7 billion over 15 years, and Walmart $3.1 billion, according to Reuters.
&#8220;We know that reckless, profit-driven dispensing practices fueled the crisis; but we know just as surely that with better systems in place and proper heeding of red flag warnings, pharmacies can play a direct role in reducing opioid abuse and in saving lives,&#8221; Paul Geller, one of the lawyers involved in the settlement, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/business/healthcare-pharmaceuticals/cvs-walmart-walgreens-reach-tentative-12-bln-opioid-pact-bloomberg-news-2022-11-02/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">told</a> Reuters.
The settlement is the first nationwide deal with retail pharmaceutical companies. Thousands of individual lawsuits have been brought against opioid makers since 2017 over the mishandling of the addictive painkillers.
The nation’s opioid crisis was declared a public health emergency in 2017 by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS).
“Devastating consequences of the opioid epidemic include increases in opioid misuse and related overdoses, as well as the rising incidence of newborns experiencing withdrawal syndrome due to opioid use and misuse during pregnancy,” <a href="https://www.hhs.gov/opioids/about-the-epidemic/index.html">according to</a> the HHS.
The Daily Wire previously <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/texas-attorney-general-investigating-walmart-over-opioids" target="_blank" rel="noopener">reported</a> on lawsuits from Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton against opioid makers. Texas has secured more than $1.8 billion from the makers and distributors of prescription opioids.
Paxton&#8217;s latest investigation, announced in June, included Walmart pharmacies across Texas to determine liability regarding opioid prescriptions.
In November 2021, an <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/flooding-communities-with-pills-pharmacy-chains-found-responsible-for-ohio-opioid-crisis" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Ohio case</a> against several pharmacy chains, including Walmart, CVS, and Walgreens, found the retailers partially responsible by a federal jury for two counties’ opioid crises in the state.
The Ohio decision was the first-ever successful ruling against the retail pharmacy industry, opening the path for additional settlements that have led to the most recent report.
The Department of Justice previously filed a <a href="https://www.dailywire.com/news/doj-sues-walmart-claims-thousands-of-invalid-prescriptions-fueled-opioid-epidemic" target="_blank" rel="noopener">lawsuit</a> in the U.S. District Court for the District of Delaware against Walmart in 2020 after concluding a multi-year investigation of the retailer. The lawsuit alleged that its pharmacies “filled thousands upon thousands of invalid prescriptions” in violation of the Controlled Substances Act, according to the <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/press-release/file/1347906/download">complaint</a>.
“We entrust distributors and dispensers with the responsibility to ensure controlled substances do not fall into the wrong hands,” Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) Acting Administrator Timothy Shea said in a <a href="https://www.justice.gov/opa/pr/department-justice-files-nationwide-lawsuit-against-walmart-inc-controlled-substances-act">statement</a>.
“When processes to safeguard against drug diversion are violated or ignored, or when pharmacies routinely fill illegitimate prescriptions, we will hold accountable anyone responsible, including Walmart. Too many lives have been lost because of oversight failures and those entrusted with responsibility turning a blind eye,&#8221; he added.
Previous settlements have also exceeded more than $20 billion from the three largest American pharmaceutical distributors, according to Reuters. Other distributor settlements have included $5 billion from Johnson &amp; Johnson, $4.35 billion from Teva Pharmaceutical Industries, $2.37 billion from AbbVie, and $450 million from Endo International.

Walgreens

CVS, Walmart, Walgreens Agree To $13.8 Billion Opioid Settlement: Report

Walmart

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