In an effort to slow the proliferation of synthetic opioid-related deaths, California will begin offering free fentanyl-testing strips to eligible organizations across the state that ask for them, the state Department of Health Care Services announced Thursday. The tests will be made available through the state’s Naloxone Distribution Project, a network of organizations that ships… Continue reading California is making fentanyl test strips free to organizations. How to get a kit
Tag: fentanyl
Fentanyl has become Los Angeles County’s most deadly drug
Fentanyl has continued to tighten its deadly grip on Los Angeles, with the synthetic opioid causing the majority of fatal overdoses countywide in 2022. For the first time in recent years, fentanyl surpassed methamphetamine as the most common drug listed as a cause of overdose deaths, according to a recent report from the L.A. County… Continue reading Fentanyl has become Los Angeles County’s most deadly drug
Opinion: Los Angeles teens face a fentanyl crisis. Here’s a way to help
Melanie Ramos was only 15 years old when she died of a suspected overdose in a high school bathroom in Hollywood. Police reported that she and a friend had purchased pills they thought were prescription painkillers but which were likely fakes containing fentanyl, a potent opioid incorporated into counterfeit pills widely available in the illicit… Continue reading Opinion: Los Angeles teens face a fentanyl crisis. Here’s a way to help
Fentanyl overdoses fuel surge in L.A. County homeless deaths
A devastating surge in drug overdoses drove up deaths among unhoused people in Los Angeles County in recent years, along with the rising toll of traffic collisions and homicides, according to a public health department report released Friday. The death rate increased 55% among people experiencing homelessness in L.A. County between 2019 and 2021, a… Continue reading Fentanyl overdoses fuel surge in L.A. County homeless deaths
Kids are dying from fentanyl. More prison time for dealers won’t help
SACRAMENTO — For weeks, there has been an uproar in the California Legislature about fentanyl. Republican lawmakers, though few in number, have led a surprisingly successful revolt around a handful of bills that largely focus on increasing criminal penalties for dealing the synthetic opioid. They have managed to push some of these measures forward despite the… Continue reading Kids are dying from fentanyl. More prison time for dealers won’t help