Latest Daily Edition Stories
VA Nominee Working Hard Behind Scenes To Quell Senators’ Skepticism Before Hearing
While Dr. Ronny Jackson is well liked by many, there are lawmakers who question his lack of managerial experience. “He’s got a great bedside manner you feel comfortable with,” says Sen. Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “But it doesn’t mean he will be a good leader of the VA.”
San Diego County Jail Slashes Opioid Prescription Rates
The jail has seen a 98 percent drop from the beginning of 2013, when nearly 1,000 inmates were prescribed more than 77,000 narcotic painkiller pills. But officials also say they’re seeing an uptick in attempts to smuggle heroin in to prisoners.
Patients With Eating Disorders Crying Out For Help, But In Bakersfield Services Are Scarce
Residents are having to go to different parts of the state to get comprehensive services. In other public health news: wildfires and heart attacks; decoding a baby’s DNA; driving while under the influence; and STD testing.
Audit Recommends Single Entity To Oversee California’s Homelessness Crisis
The state audit said a 2016 state law that created the Homeless Coordinating and Financing Council was a good start in providing oversight, but it has no permanent staff.
Mayor Darrell Steinberg is not committing city funds to the process at the moment so the work would be dependent on volunteers.
Orange County’s Only Needle Exchange May Get Second Life As A Mobile Operation
The group, if the state approves, would hand out syringes and other harm-reduction supplies out of a van in Santa Ana, Anaheim, Orange and Costa Mesa.
No One Should Be ‘Unable To Save A Life Because Of The High Price’ Of Naloxone, Senators Say
Lawmakers are urging HHS to take steps to bring down the price of the antioverdose medication. And NIH decides to cut drugmakers out of a study on opioids.
Easy-To-Use Test Strips To Detect Powerful Fentanyl Becomes Latest Weapon To Fight Opioid Crisis
Fentanyl’s recent arrival in California is raising alarms across the state because of how powerful it is. The synthetic drug is 30 to 50 times more powerful than heroin, making the overdose risk extremely high.
Bernie Sanders Wants To Impose Prison Sentences On Pharma Executives Who Play Role In Opioid Crisis
The proposed legislation from Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would also prohibit companies from direct marketing of opioid products without adequate warning of their addictive properties and establish a reimbursement fund that would collect revenues from the penalties imposed. Meanwhile, Attorney General Jeff Sessions issues a proposed change for the DEA regarding distribution quotas, and Patrick Kennedy stands to profit from his advocacy for more spending on the opioid epidemic.
Daughter Draws On Lifetime Of Personal Experience As She Wages Fight Against Opioid Crisis
Brittany Pettersen, now a Colorado lawmaker who is battling the crisis in her state with legislation to curb the epidemic, uses her mother’s fight against addiction to shine a light on the toll drug problems take on loved ones.
