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Josh Wallner-Sentle's death was one of over 100 fatal overdoses in Jackson County last year. Many involved fentanyl, a highly addictive and powerful synthetic opioid that can be mixed into other drugs.
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State estimates show 1,333 people will be convicted of drug possession and 533 could go to jail every year under House Bill 4002. The numbers suggest that the system Oregon lawmakers envisioned to replace Measure 110 — in which drug users can avoid criminal consequences through treatment — will only go so far.
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Just in time to go home for Memorial Day weekend, legislators bulldozed their way through a bunch of bills at the end of the week to beat the even bigger deluge next week, when there’s a Friday deadline to pass remaining bills through the house where they were introduced.
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On an average day in California, about 18 people die due to overdoses from fentanyl and other synthetic opioids. That works out to nearly four people every five hours.
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Northern California’s Yurok Tribe declared an emergency this month over a surge in fentanyl overdoses. The problem exists among tribes across the region.
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A bill aimed at reducing use and deaths from fentanyl and other opioids among young people is headed to Gov. Tina Kotek to sign.
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Democrats on a Senate committee declined to advance a bipartisan proposal to require written warnings for dealers who knowingly distribute drugs containing fentanyl that results in someone’s death.
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What could have been a dramatic showdown Thursday, orchestrated by Republican legislators demanding action on bills addressing California’s fentanyl crisis, was ultimately avoided with a deal for a special hearing next week.
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Family members of people who have died from fentanyl overdose demanded greater urgency on the issue from state lawmakers on Tuesday, expressing frustration at the number of bills that have so far failed to advance this year.
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Expect a lot of debate over how California should respond to the state’s mounting fentanyl epidemic when state lawmakers return to Sacramento early next year.