fentanyl

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Prosecutors: Kouri Richins Had Already Tried to Kill Husband

Utah woman is charged with attempted murder over alleged February 2022 incident

(Newser) - 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...

Cops: Alleged Husband Killer May Have Learned From Mom

Kouri Richins's mother, Lisa Darden, also had a partner die from overdose, writes detective

(Newser) - Accused of altering a life insurance policy before murdering her husband with a dose of fentanyl bought from a housekeeper , then selling a book about grief , Kouri Richins may not have acted alone, according to police. In a recently unsealed search warrant affidavit, a detective describes a long-ago incident involving...

More Drug ODs Now Come From Smoking, Not Injecting
More Overdoses Now Come
From Smoking, Not Injecting
new study

More Overdoses Now Come From Smoking, Not Injecting

CDC flags the drug stat, which is linked to the rise of fentanyl use

(Newser) - A new CDC report flags a notable stat related to the rising use of fentanyl: For the first time, more fatal overdoses come from smoking drugs than injecting them.
  • From early 2020 to late 2022, smoking overdose deaths surged 74% while injection overdose deaths fell 29%, reports the AP .
  • Overall,
...

Early Toxicology Reports May Shed Light on 3 KC Fans' Death

Source tells TMZ that the men allegedly showed traces of coke, fentanyl; cops await fuller tests

(Newser) - Three friends and fellow fans of the Kansas City Chiefs who were found dead outside a residence in the Missouri city were said by the homeowner to have frozen to death. Now, early toxicology results suggest there may be more to the story. Sources tell TMZ that preliminary reports have...

Fentanyl State of Emergency Declared in Portland, Oregon

'Our country and our state have never seen a drug this deadly addictive'

(Newser) - Several elected leaders in Oregon declared a state of emergency on Tuesday for downtown Portland over the public health and public safety crisis fueled by fentanyl. Oregon Gov. Tina Kotek, Portland Mayor Ted Wheeler, and Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson made the declaration for a 90-day period during which...

The Opioid Crisis Is Crossing Over to Something Darker

Experts struggle to treat multi-drug use as opioid users turn to meth and other stimulants

(Newser) - The opioid epidemic has become an uphill battle with the rise of fentanyl on the streets, but experts are seeing an even scarier trend. The New York Times reports that people addicted to drugs are more likely to use multiple substances now, combining a cocktail of uppers and downers that...

One Woman's Controversial Mission to Help Drug Addicts

Louise Vincent focuses on 'harm reduction' approach instead of abstinence

(Newser) - One way to help addicts off of drugs is to get them to quit cold turkey, an approach favored by many US politicians as they push for legislation and tougher prison sentences to combat the emergence of such drugs as fentanyl and xylazine (aka "tranq," or "zombie...

After Fentanyl-Laced Letters, Officials Stock Up on Naloxone

Elections officials around the country are feeling threatened in wake of opioid-laced letters

(Newser) - The suspicious letters sent to vote centers and government buildings in six states this month were undeniably scary, some containing traces of fentanyl or white powder, accompanied by not-so-veiled threats and dubious political symbols. Harkening back to the anthrax attacks that killed five people in 2001, the AP reports that...

Oregon Considers Reversing Course on Hard Drugs

Just 2 years after Measure 110 passed, officials are taking a hard look at whether it's working

(Newser) - Oregon became the first state to decriminalize all drugs , but with overdoses and public intoxication on the rise, officials are taking a hard look at whether the new law is working. The Wall Street Journal reports that Measure 110, which had 58% support in 2020, is declining in popularity after...

Possibly Fentanyl-Laced Mail Sent to Election Offices

A rash of reports across the country, including, notably, Georgia's Fulton County

(Newser) - A possibly fentanyl-laced letter was sent to an election official in Georgia's Fulton County, Georgia Secretary of State Brad Raffensperger says. He says state and federal officials are working to determine whether any other officials in the state have been targeted, Fox 5 Atlanta reports; WSB-TV reports they're...

Ohio Woman Is Alleged Serial Killer
Serial Killer Suspect
Pleads Not Guilty
updated

Serial Killer Suspect Pleads Not Guilty

Rebecca Auborn is accused of drugging 5 men in Ohio, 4 of whom died

(Newser) - An Ohio woman who police say fatally drugged four men pleaded not guilty to 28 charges at an arraignment Monday and will be held in jail awaiting trial after waiving her chance for bond. Rebecca Auborn's pleas were entered through her attorney, Mark Hunt, the Columbus Dispatch reports. Investigators...

New US Strategy Focuses on Fentanyl Supply Chain

Postal Service, carriers will help monitor chemicals, presses used to make pills

(Newser) - As overdose deaths continue at a record pace, US Customs and Border Protection announced a new government-wide strategy Thursday involving scores of agencies that will target the precursor materials used by traffickers to make fentanyl and other synthetic drugs. Under the plan, CBP will work with the Postal Service and...

Report: Sinaloa Cartel Now Killing Fentanyl Producers

Cartel appears to be enforcing ban on the drug, though authorities still have doubts

(Newser) - When banners went up announcing that the Sinaloa drug cartel had given up the sale and production of fentanyl , authorities were understandably wary. But members of the cartel, the leading exporter of fentanyl to the US, say cartel leaders are serious—deadly serious. A "midlevel Sinaloa cartel operative" who...

GOP Rivals Propose Acts of War Against Mexico Over Fentanyl

DeSantis proposed killing suspects, Haley sending special forces across border

(Newser) - Ron DeSantis wants suspected drug smugglers at the US-Mexico border to be shot dead. Nikki Haley promises to send special forces into Mexico. Vivek Ramaswamy has accused Mexico's leader of treating drug cartels as his "sugar daddy" and says that if he is elected president, "there will...

'You Have Been Warned. Respectfully, Chapitos'

Sinaloa cartel puts up banners in Mexico saying it's abandoning fentanyl, but could be 'pure propaganda'

(Newser) - Banners appeared Monday in northern Mexico purportedly signed by a faction of Mexico's Sinaloa cartel claiming that the gang has sworn off the sale and production of the synthetic opioid fentanyl. But, as the AP reports, experts quickly cast doubt on the veracity of the claim, saying that fentanyl—...

Fentanyl Found Hidden Under Floor at Daycare Where Child Died

Police are still searching for daycare owner's husband

(Newser) - The New York Police Department on Thursday released photos of what officers say is a huge stash of fentanyl they found hidden under a trap door in the daycare's floor. Other drugs were also allegedly found in the stash totaling more than five kilos, CBS News reports. The two...

More Charges After Child Is Fatally Exposed to Fentanyl

2 adults already charged in case are now also charged in federal court

(Newser) - The two people previously hit with state charges over the death of a 1-year-old boy who was exposed to fentanyl at a New York City home daycare are now also facing federal charges. A complaint filed in federal court Monday charges Grei Mendez, 36, and Carlisto Acevedo Brito, 41, with...

Puppy Given Naloxone After Possible Fentanyl OD

8-week-old puppy made a full recovery

(Newser) - Naloxone, the opioid overdose-reversing drug, was used not on a human but on a puppy in southern California last week. Irvine police officers say the pit bull puppy appeared to have been exposed to fentanyl and recovered quickly after the drug, also known as Narcan, was administered via nasal spray,...

Former US Swimmer's Cause of Death in Virgin Islands Revealed

Jamie Cail died of accidental fentanyl poisoning, announce Virgin Islands police

(Newser) - A former US swimming star found dead in the US Virgin Islands in February died of accidental fentanyl poisoning, according to police. Jamie Cail, 42, died of "fentanyl intoxication with aspiration of gastric content," police said in a Saturday release, per NBC News . An autopsy was performed on...

Elderly Drug Dealer Sentenced in Wire Actor's Death

72-year-old got 2.5 years in prison

(Newser) - One of the men arrested in the overdose death of The Wire actor Michael K. Williams was on Tuesday sentenced to two and a half years behind bars. Carlos Macci, 72, pleaded guilty in April to possessing and distributing narcotics, NBC News reports. "I would like to say, your...

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