Fear grows that ‘Green Fentanyl’ could make its way to EBR Parish
Green fentanyl is showing up across the Northshore and in New Orleans. There's a growing fear it could make its way to Baton Rouge. Tonja Myles has spent more than 30 years fighting addiction as an anti-drug advocate. She worries it could undo progress made in Baton Rouge to reduce overdoses.
Jacque Caro is a social worker at New Concepts Clinical Chief Officer at a behavioral health agency in Toledo, Ohio. She and her husband have been married for 8 years. He has been in recovery from addiction to opiates for 14 years. The epidemic is fueled by prescription and illegal drugs. Lucas County has seen a dip in overdose deaths.
Facing federal pressure, Fenway Health halts gender-affirming care for patients under 19
Fenway Health will stop providing gender-affirming care for under-19s at its clinic in Boston. The clinic says it has to comply with new federal regulations to maintain support for its more than 30,000 patients. The move has angered many in the community who relied on Fenway Health's care.
Organizations that provide help to illegal substance users in Ciudad Juárez and El Paso are facing problems reaching their beneficiaries. The border has long been one of the most guarded areas in both the United States and Mexico. Since taking office this year, US President Donald Trump has deployed additional troops to the already militarized region. Research shows it's difficult …
Flesh-eating ‘zombie’ drug horrors continue — inside the worst cases doctors are treating
In 2023, 30% of fentanyl powder samples and 6% of pills tested by the DEA were contaminated with xylazine. In Philadelphia, the drug was involved in 38% of unintentional overdose deaths in 2023. Xylazine is an animal sedative that causes local tissue toxicity and local vasoconstriction. It can mimic flesh-eating bacteria and even require amputation.
Mary Kay Riendeau started using alcohol, marijuana and cigarettes when she was 12 years old. She is now the head of addiction studies at Minnesota North College-Mesabi Range. She wants to expand access to addiction counseling services in rural areas across the state.
Drugs for me but not for thee, says Elon Musk
Elon Musk wants President Donald Trump to send active duty troops to San Francisco to stop the "drug zombie apocalypse". This is rich coming from Musk, who is himself a one-man drug zombie apocalypse. Salesforce CEO Marc Benioff thinks the National Guard could help reduce crime in San Francisco. The military is not allowed to be a roving police force.
Jessica Massarone's parents struggled with drug addiction. She was diagnosed with anxiety and depression in her teens, but she got an associate degree in child development and worked for seven years at a university child care center. At 26, her boyfriend introduced her to cocaine. She got pregnant, then sober, then addicted. She lost custody of her children. In May, …