Latest news with #Xylazine
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Missouri legislative panel hears recommendations for state substance abuse care
The Missouri State Capitol in Jefferson City, as pictured September 26, 2023 (Annelise Hanshaw/Missouri Independent). Lawmakers heard suggestions Monday for addressing the behavioral health needs of Missourians struggling with substance abuse. Missouri's Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Task Force is comprised of state senators and representatives, and the task force chose professor Rachel Winograd to represent its recommendations before the House Health and Mental Health Committee. Winograd researches addiction science and works to develop solutions to substance abuse at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. Changes to the state's drug supply inspired the task force's recommendations. Winograd said even though opioid deaths are decreasing and deaths from stimulants have plateaued, new street drugs like Xylazine (a veterinary sedative commonly known as 'tranq') complicate efforts to combat substance abuse. 'Across my last two years of sitting with the substance abuse task force, I reviewed our recommendations, which were plentiful,' Winograd said. 'I did my best to cluster them in five key domains.' Winograd said funding for substance abuse prevention needs to increase or at least stay at its current level. Medicaid, she said, has been crucial in caring for people with addictions without tapping into state funds. Most state funding for substance abuse treatment comes from sales tax on cannabis and tobacco, as well as settlement funds received from tobacco companies that compensate for smoking-related medical costs. Rep. Becky Laubinger, R-Park Hills, pointed out how the state has some of the lowest tobacco sales taxes in the nation. The tax rate per one pack of cigarettes in Missouri is 17 cents. The task force found that the biggest gaps in funding are basic needs like recovery housing. 'I've been really humbled,' Winograd said, 'by how little it matters if you provide really effective evidence-based treatment service if no one can get there.' She described transportation as an issue of 'equifinality,' or how different experiences can lead to similar outcomes. In rural areas, she said, treatment centers might be too far away. In urban areas, public transportation and infrastructure might be subpar. Some current solutions to the issue are state-provided bus passes and funds for ride-booking services from care providers, but Winograd said she doubts these solutions are the most efficient way. Housing is another basic need that effects how those struggling with substances get the help they need. 'What good is fabulous, gold-standard care if then I go back to living on the streets,' Winograd said. 'The way we work as humans operating in society is that my first priority is going to be finding housing. Then I'll deal with my sobriety.' She recommended flexible strategies as a solution, such as outpatient treatment combined with sober living and recovery housing. Overdose response makes up a large part of crisis care for substance abuse. Winograd praised the state's push for behavioral health crisis centers, which she compared to urgent care facilities. However, she also recommended that those centers be required to provide medical treatment for people struggling with opioid addiction. Another task force proposal was ambulance transport to non-hospital settings, such as behavioral health centers. 'Especially after an opioid overdose or a stimulant overamping event, often the hospital is not necessarily the best place for somebody to go,' Winograd said. 'They don't get the right care, it's not what they want, it's not what they need. They kind of get spun and churned back out to the streets.' Behavioral health care centers can provide more comfortable or personalized care for such cases, she said. The task force also recommended helping people navigate recovery programs, legalizing needle exchanges and expanding drug-checking services. Overdoses are a 'huge killer' of people who have been formerly incarcerated, Winograd said. She recommended drug courts and diversion programs in communities to help in lowering incarceration rates. She also suggested increasing resources to treat people with addictions while they are incarcerated. The task force also recommended judicial treatment courts, which offer care as an alternative to incarceration. Winograd said the task force wants to make sure use of life-saving tools isn't discouraged. 'There's a real culture in specific drug courts of success and motivation,' Winograd said. 'I'm looking forward to learning more about drug courts and also making sure they are as evidence-based and effective as possible, specifically ensuring that they not only allow, but encourage and support people to stay on medications for addiction treatment.' Other legal recommendations from the task force include evidence-based treatment for the incarcerated, expanding naloxone distribution and increased funding for public defenders. The task force found that community support and infrastructure is crucial for youth prevention of substance abuse. 'All of these things are really about letting a child have a childhood and not be running in the streets unattended and getting into dangerous stuff,' Winograd said. The task force supported funding for youth mentoring and community service liaisons, school-based supports and youth crisis centers. After hearing testimony in the task force, Winograd agreed that current prevention programming is not very effective, and can even be harmful. 'There is a difference between any school assembly talking about 'don't do drugs' and efforts that actually work,' she said. Winograd said targeted messaging to an age-appropriate audience can help adolescents understand what is going on inside their mind so drugs don't seem like the easiest option. This story originally appeared in the Columbia Missourian. It can be reprinted in print or online.
Yahoo
21-04-2025
- Yahoo
Upstate man sentenced for trafficking drugs laced with horse tranquilizer
PICKENS COUNTY, S.C. (WSPA) – An Upstate man was sentenced to nearly 20 years in prison Wednesday after pleading guilty to trafficking fentanyl mixed with a powerful horse tranquilizer. The 13th Circuit Solicitor's Office said 61-year-old David Allen Wallace, of Pickens, pleaded guilty to trafficking fentanyl, four grams or more, but less than 14 grams, first offense and was sentenced to 18 years in the South Carolina Department of Corrections. According to a release from the solicitor's office, an officer with the Easley Police Department found Wallace asleep behind the wheel of a car in a McDonalds' drive-thru in September of 2023. Upon searching the vehicle, officers found roughly 13 grams of fentanyl and over $1,000 cash, according to a release. Reports state a lab analysis of the fentanyl tested positive for Xylazine, a horse tranquilizer known to cause overdoses that cannot be reversed with Narcan. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
16-04-2025
- Yahoo
Children on playgrounds targeted by drug runners with candy-colored 'trash cans,' DEA agent warns
As drug dealers look to innovate and market their product to the masses, some have started to stash their poison in "trash cans," small multicolored capsules that have replaced traditional vials. Authorities have found them in Baltimore, New Jersey, New York City and Philadelphia. In Baltimore, some are being used to package fentanyl, a deadly opioid that kills even in small amounts, according to a 2021 warning issued by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA). In New York, drug dealers have moved away from traditional packaging systems like vials used to sell cocaine and other drugs, said Frank Tarentino III, the special agent in charge of the DEA's New York office. "There was a time when cocaine was encapsulated in what we would call crack vials. … We're seeing that substituted with these trash cans or pop-tops, or snap top-type plastic material that contains an illicit drug," Tarentino told Fox News Digital. "It's been reported in different schools throughout New York City that these trash cans, pop-tops are being found in the playgrounds in and around schools." Navy Deploys Additional Warship To Curb Illegal Immigration, Drug Smuggling At The Southern Border The DEA's laboratory in New York found that the "trash cans" found in and around New York contained cocaine, Tarentino said. Read On The Fox News App Authorities there haven't seen any evidence of much fentanyl in the "trash cans," he said, but it's only a matter of time before street-level dealers begin mixing the opioid with cocaine and package it into colorful receptacles, he said. However, in 2023, there were reports of fentanyl stashed inside "trash can" capsules that were found by private school students at a Brooklyn playground. The drugs were found at the Crispus Attucks Playground in the Bedford-Stuyvesant neighborhood, the New York Post reported at the time. Dem Looks To Codify New Ag Bondi's Desired Crackdown On 'Zombie Drug' Xylazine In Fort Greene, Brooklyn, multicolored "trash cans" were found in and around a park that same year, according to a warning from the Fort Greene Conservancy at the time. They were found in the park's playground and on a lawn. "The newness of the packaging is attractive. It's distinctive," the DEA said in its 2021 warning. "And like any other product, selling drugs is in many ways about marketing." At the time the capsules were found in the Brooklyn park, parents were notified of the drugs being stored in the tiny eye-catching containers. "We reminded the children of the class rule that we only pick up things made by nature and, in particular, some things that aren't made by nature like these 'little trash cans' can have poison on them and children should never touch them, only report them to grown ups (sic) right away," the notice said. Grieving Parents Slam Dems For Opposing Bipartisan Fentanyl Bill Using Claims Parroted By Soros-backed Group The DEA remains concerned about the packaging trend, Tarentino said. It's "definitely appealing to young people. It is definitely a branding or drug-marketing scheme," he said. "We're very concerned about this happening in and around our schools and in our communities." The capsules appeal to dealers as well. They're thicker and more durable than other containers, the DEA said, making them attractive to drug pushers. In addition, they are easier to smuggle, less likely to break apart once inside the human body and can hold up under bad weather conditions like rain, as opposed to small plastic bags. The New York Police Department told Fox News Digital, "We have seen this packaging." The NYPD does not keep data on the packaging itself, a police spokesperson said. Fox News Digital has reached out multiple times to the New York City Departments of Education, Public Health and Parks and Recreation. Since January, the DEA in New York has seized 7,342 pounds of cocaine and 365 pounds of fentanyl, of which 230 pounds were pills. The DEA seized 2.5 million fentanyl-laced pills. Overall, the DEA has seized more than 13.5 million pills and more than 2,132 pounds of fentanyl powder. Those seizures represent at least 81 million deadly doses, the agency told Fox News article source: Children on playgrounds targeted by drug runners with candy-colored 'trash cans,' DEA agent warns
Yahoo
04-04-2025
- Yahoo
Norfolk fentanyl dealer sentenced for woman's overdose death
NORFOLK, Va. (WAVY) – A Norfolk fentanyl dealer was sentenced on April 3, 2025 to over 21 years in prison for selling drugs to a woman that caused her overdose death. According to court documents, the victim reached out to Jason Warren, aka Cuzzo, on July 14, 2022 to buy drugs. Warren gave the victim a mixture of heroin, fentanyl and Xylazine. The following day, Chesapeake Police responded to a report of a suspected drug overdose and found the woman who had met with Warren dead in her hotel room. Officers recovered narcotics, drug paraphernalia, a cellphone, and personal items belonging to the victim. Among the narcotics and paraphernalia were a plastic bag containing heroin and fentanyl, a bag containing heroin, fentanyl, and Xylazine residue, and a straw with heroin and fentanyl residue. The Chief Medical Examiner's report states that the woman's cause of death was acute fentanyl and heroin toxicity. On two occasions, Aug. 2 and Aug. 9, 2022, Warren distributed a mixture of fentanyl, heroin, and Xylazine to a confidential informant in Norfolk. On Aug. 14, 2022, law enforcement arrested Warren, who was in possession of the same mixture of drugs at the time, according to a release from the U.S. Attorney's Office. On Aug. 19, 2022, investigators searched Warren's residence and recovered pill bottles with Warren's name on them, multiple bags containing firearms and ammunition, and a bag containing drug paraphernalia. Warren pleaded guilty on Jan. 10, 2025to distribution of fentanyl resulting in death. U.S. District Judge Jamar K. Walker handed down a sentencing of 21 years and 10 months in prison for Warren. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
03-04-2025
- Yahoo
Dauphin County woman charged with murder after deadly Christmas Eve overdose
CUMBERLAND COUNTY, Pa. (WHTM) — A Dauphin County woman was charged with murder after allegedly selling the drugs that led to a man's overdose death on Christmas Eve in Cumberland County, court documents state. Samantha Pack, 30, of Elizabethville, faces multiple charges, including murder of the third degree, for a man's deadly overdose in his apartment above Visaggio's restaurant in Enola on Dec. 24, according to a criminal complaint. DCNR Falcon Cam to feature live hatching in Harrisburg Pack was with him when he was overdosing, and instead of calling 911, which would have been an attempt to save his life, she left him to die, Silver Spring Township Police said in the criminal complaint. 'Further, Samantha Pack admits and describes Ronald Martin Jr. as being in an overdose state to this investigator, as well as other friends,' the charging officer wrote in the complaint. 'However, Pack, knowing that, provides no medical care, and furthermore does not call 911. She, however instead leaves his motel room while he is inside experiencing a drug overdose.' Close Thanks for signing up! Watch for us in your inbox. Subscribe Now According to police, they were alerted about the fatal overdose after the restaurant owner found Martin's body in the apartment located along Wertzville Road. Police said Martin was an employee of Visaggio's, and the owners went to check on him after he did not show up for work and no one could get ahold of him. Baggies and other drug paraphernalia were found inside the apartment, according to the complaint. Pack was spotted on surveillance video entering the victim's apartment with him and coming and going from the room multiple times before leaving. However, the victim was never seen leaving his room after he entered with Pack, police said. PSP: Camp Hill police officer, constable charged with trespassing The complaint shows Pack was located and questioned her about the victim's overdose. Police say Pack admitted to giving the victim drugs and found him passed out on his bed. She tried to roll him over, then took his phone and left, not calling 911 because she didn't want him to get fired. Police were told about a phone call Pack made while she was in the room with Martin, and how she could be heard crying and yelling his name. The coroner's report shows that Martin's cause of death was from multiple drugs, including Xylazine, also known as 'Tranq.' Pack also faces felony charges of drug delivery resulting in death, criminal use of a communication facility, and manufacture, delivery or possession with intent to deliver or manufacture. She also faces misdemeanor charges of involuntary manslaughter, theft, receiving stolen property, tampering with/fabricating evidence and additional drug charges. She is locked up in Cumberland County Prison with her bail denied after being arraigned in front of Magisterial District Judge Kathryn Silcox. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for April 10. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
