Opioids were a main driver in roughly 1,200 drug overdose deaths in Philadelphia last year. That’s four times the city’s murder rate. It’s time, some officials say, to supervise, not criminalize.
Alcohol & Substance Abuse
New pretrial system scales back cash bail, increases monitoring
The state has created an entirely new Pretrial Enforcement Division. Its 60 officers are responsible for monitoring defendants’ compliance with their conditions of release.
Petersburg police collect over 11,000 pills in less than a year
Petersburg Police Department has gathered over 11,000 unused prescription medication and other pills since it opened up a collection box in the new police station lobby in late February.
Woman charged in rash of fentanyl overdoses at Eagle River prison
A woman incarcerated at Hiland Mountain Correctional Center in Eagle River gave a powerful synthetic opioid to other inmates, causing four overdoses in late October, according to charges filed in federal court Tuesday.
Life expectancy drops again as opioid deaths surge in U.S.
The opioid epidemic caused U.S. life expectancy to fall for the second year in a row, marking the first time that has happened since the early 1960s. Death rates also continued to rise.
Why prison drug treatment programs in Alaska ramped down at ‘exactly the wrong time’
State corrections officials closed or moved drug treatment programs it offered because of contracting issues just as lighter sentencing rules took effect that were supposed to be paired with more treatment.