Opioid Epidemic

Exchange of Ideas: How A Rural Kentucky County Overcame Fear To Adopt A Needle Exchange

Greg Lee, Kentucky’s HIV/AIDS educator, starts the town hall on a somber note. “How many people in this room know someone who has died of an overdose death?” It is a standing-room only crowd. Most hands go up. “Amazing,” he says, sadly. The meeting is at the Bourbon County Public […]

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Trump Believes the U.S. Can Arrest and Execute Its Way Out of Opioid Crisis. You Know Who Else Does? Philippines President Duterte.

In a speech in New Hampshire last week, President Trump advocated executing drug dealers as a way to “solve” the root of American drug addiction, including the opioid crisis. This is consistent with the president’s get-tough language on addiction, which places more value on—and will direct more government resources toward—enforcement […]

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Does West Virginia Lead the Nation in Overdose Drug Death Rate? Yes

As he runs for a U.S. Senate seat, Rep. Evan Jenkins, R-W.Va., is seeking targeted funding for states grappling with opioid addiction. Jenkins co-sponsored the Federal Opioid Response Fairness Act with Democratic Rep. Annie Kuster of New Hampshire and several other lawmakers, including fellow West Virginia Republican Rep. David McKinley. The legislation, […]

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The Lonely Drop Box: How Government Drug Take-Back Efforts Can Improve in Appalachia

On the Lonely Drop Box’s website, eight red dots mark where Southwest Virginia residents can find pharmacies with permanent drug drop-off boxes. Those dots — along with 17 blue dots representing law enforcement agencies with drop-off sites — are surrounded by gray markers showing pharmacies that don’t collect unwanted or […]

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