Methamphetamine appears in Alaska at greater volumes than ever before. Opioid crisis is making meth’s negative health impacts worse, allowing it to reach new users and being used in riskier ways. People working at the ground level warn it’s getting worse.
Alcohol & Substance Abuse
Sample sales present snag for overhaul of state alcohol laws
Until last week, alcohol sellers and others were in agreement over the need to make legal changes.
Bethel voters to decide whether or not to keep legal alcohol sales
Bethel residents will be asked to vote again this October on whether to have legal sales of alcohol in town. A petition submitted by Evon Waska Sr. has gathered enough signatures to put the local option issue back on the city’s October ballot.
As opioids land more women in prison, Ohio finds alternative treatments
Ohio Reformatory for Women was built in 1916 but has expanded beyond the original stone structure. Nowadays, they’re doing more to enable women to succeed outside the prison and hopefully stay out.
Opioid use lower in states that eased marijuana laws
Researchers looked at states with medical marijuana dispensaries and those that allow home cultivation, and found lower use of opioids, when compared with states where marijuana remains illegal.
Bartlett Regional Hospital plans to expand rehab services
A $2.5 million expansion of Bartlett Regional Hospital would go toward a 4,000-square-foot addition to house the Rainforest Recovery Center. It would take pressure off of the emergency room.