Basil Backford, 44, of Dillingham was sentenced to five years in prison Thursday for his repeated drinking and driving violations. Backford was ordered to begin serving his time immediately after the hearing at the Dillingham courthouse.
Alcohol & Substance Abuse
Safeway to pay feds $3M after Wasilla pharmacy lost thousands of pain pills
The supermarket chain Safeway Inc. has agreed to pay $3 million in a settlement that involves missing pain medication from a pharmacy in Wasilla.
Alaska’s largest needle exchange is rushing to keep up with demand
The number of syringes exchanged at one Anchorage non-profit doubled in just two years. In 2016, the program gave out slightly less than a half-million clean needles. And disposed of even more. This year they’re on track to outpace that.
Wave of addiction costs is hitting Alaska’s health care system
Like much of the country, Alaska is seeing a surge in opioid and heroin addiction. State officials are scrambling to deal with an expanding list of the consequences.
FDA calls on drugmaker to pull a powerful opioid off the market
The Food and Drug Administration says abuse of the painkiller Opana ER has fueled an outbreak of HIV, hepatitis C and a serious blood disorder, though it was reformulated to try to reduce abuse.
You’re out of prison. Now what?
Three former inmates that live in Juneau share what prepared them for life after prison, and what they think has kept them out.