#fentanyl
#fentanyl

East Bay (California)

Two Oakland residents from Honduras sentenced for selling fentanyl, meth

Two Oakland residents from Honduras sentenced for fentanyl and meth trafficking in the Bay Area.

Carcamo had large quantities of fentanyl and cash, while Guisa-Ortega admitted to selling deadly fentanyl. [ more ]

time.com

U.S. and China Launch Talks to Stem Flow of Fentanyl, in Rare Sign of Cooperation

American and Chinese officials met to discuss joint efforts to stem the flow of fentanyl into the U.S.

The U.S. wants China to do more to curb the export of chemicals that are processed into fentanyl. [ more ]

time.com

More People Die After Smoking Drugs Than Injecting Them

Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths.

Smoking fentanyl is somewhat less deadly than injecting it, but both methods carry a substantial overdose risk. [ more ]

Los Angeles Times

Health

Opinion: 'Just say no' can kill kids. Teach them how to stay safe in the fentanyl era

Fentanyl has caused an increase in overdoses among teens, killing an average of 22 every week in the US.

Fatal overdoses among US teens aged 14-18 reached an all-time high in 2022. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

San Francisco

Can San Francisco Solve Its Drug Crisis? Five Things to Consider.

San Francisco's drug crisis has outpaced the national average, with an overdose death rate more than double the national average.

Policy changes, such as the decriminalization of drug possession, have contributed to San Francisco's drug crisis. [ more ]

New York Post

NYC politics

Gov. Hochul needs to declare state emergency over NY opioid deaths: Staten Island pols

A bipartisan task force in Staten Island is urging Gov. Kathy Hochul to declare a public health emergency to address the opioid crisis in New York.

The task force issued a report with recommendations including stiffening penalties for drug peddlers, tightening bail laws, and increasing funding for harm reduction, education, and addiction prevention.

The report compares the opioid crisis to the challenge of the Marshall Plan and highlights the increasing presence of fentanyl in overdose deaths. [ more ]

moreoverdose-deaths

Streetsblog

San Francisco

Study: Fentanyl Use Rising on the Roads - But No One Knows How Much - Streetsblog USA

The percentage of dead motorists with fentanyl has doubled in recent years, raising concerns about the true extent of the issue.

Testing for fentanyl and other drugs after fatal crashes remains limited, with only 37% of drivers tested. [ more ]

ABC7 San Francisco

San Francisco

2023 is SF's deadliest year ever for drug overdoses; solution to crisis may be in wastewater

A record number of people have died from drug overdoses in San Francisco this year, surpassing the previous record of 726 deaths in 2020.

San Francisco public health officials announced a plan to track wastewater for illicit drugs including fentanyl, methamphetamine, amphetamine, cocaine, and xylazine. [ more ]

BKReader

Brooklyn

Two Men Arrested for Trafficking Drugs Linked to Fatal Overdose of BK Activist

Two men charged with distributing drugs that caused a trans rights advocate's death.

Michael Kuilan supplied Antonio Venti with fentanyl-laced heroin that led to the advocate's death. [ more ]

BKReader

Brooklyn

Brooklyn Woman Charged With Gun Trafficking, Drug Sales

Ariana Charles is facing charges for gun trafficking and narcotics related charges

Charles sold firearms and drugs, including fentanyl disguised as Oxycodone pills [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

Wellness

Overdose or Poisoning? A New Debate Over What to Call a Drug Death.

Families advocate for using 'poisoning' over 'overdose' in describing drug deaths

Fentanyl-tainted pills pose a significant danger in the United States [ more ]

www.bostonherald.com

2 months ago

Health

Fourth wave' of opioid epidemic crashes ashore, propelled by fentanyl and meth

The U.S. faces the fourth wave of the opioid epidemic with increasing polysubstance use, particularly combining fentanyl with methamphetamine or cocaine.

Polysubstance use, particularly with fentanyl and methamphetamine, poses a significant challenge in addressing the nation's drug problem. [ more ]

www.mercurynews.com

2 months ago

Health

More people die after smoking drugs than injecting them, US study finds

Smoking has surpassed injecting as the most common way of taking drugs in U.S. overdose deaths.

Fentanyl, a potent painkiller, is often cut into heroin or other drugs and has been a primary driver of the U.S. overdose epidemic. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

China and the U.S. Are Talking, but Their Detente Has Limits

The United States and China have resumed diplomatic talks on various issues, indicating a tentative detente in their relationship.

There is a disagreement on how to define the relationship, with the Biden administration seeing it as strategic competition and Chinese officials rejecting this and promoting a 'San Francisco Vision' of stabilizing relations and putting competition aside. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

Chinese and US officials meet in effort to stop flow of deadly fentanyl

US and Chinese officials met to discuss joint efforts to combat the flow of fentanyl into the US.

The meeting focused on fentanyl, its ingredients made in China, and the need for China to curb the export of precursor chemicals. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

Here's the latest on the meeting.

President Biden's primary goal in meeting with President Xi Jinping is to avoid conflict in the increasingly bitter competition between the US and China.

There are expectations that an agreement will be reached on regulating components of fentanyl and discussions on artificial intelligence and military-to-military communications will take place.

President Biden and President Xi expressed their belief in the potential of a promising future in the bilateral relationship. [ more ]

www.nytimes.com

U.S. to Press China to Stop Flow of Fentanyl

President Biden will push Chinese leader Xi Jinping to crack down on Chinese firms producing fentanyl.

Curbing China's illicit exports of fentanyl could be a significant achievement for the U.S.

China denies playing a pivotal role in the fentanyl crisis and blames the U.S. for drug use culture. [ more ]

Los Angeles Times

Los Angeles

Yuba County elections office is the latest to receive toxic letter

An elections office in Yuba County, Sacramento received a letter laced with fentanyl, a deadly synthetic opiate.

This incident follows similar attacks on election offices around the country, raising concerns about the safety of election officials. [ more ]

www.theguardian.com

US politics

California: staff member exposed after fentanyl mailed to elections office

An envelope containing fentanyl was mailed to a elections office in northern California, exposing a worker to the drug.

The incident prompted California's secretary of state to issue an advisory to county election officials with guidance on safety protocols. [ more ]

www.mercurynews.com

US politics

Package mailed to rural Northern California elections office tested positive for fentanyl, authorities say

Authorities are investigating a suspicious envelope sent to an elections office in Yuba County that may have contained fentanyl.

This incident follows a series of suspicious packages sent to elections facilities in several states, including California, last November.

Election officials and workers have faced threats and harassment since the 2020 election, leading to increased security measures and training. [ more ]

New York Post

US politics

Letters containing fentanyl, calling to 'end elections now' mailed to ballot counting centers in four states: feds

Suspicious letters containing fentanyl were sent to election offices in multiple states.

The letters had messages indicating a desire to end elections.

The FBI and local law enforcement are investigating the incidents. [ more ]

KQED

California

Sonoma County District Attorney's Fentanyl Ad Features Made Up Story | KQED

The Sonoma County District Attorney's Office removed a public service announcement about fentanyl from its website.

A new poll shows that most Californians do not believe U.S. borders are effective at keeping people from entering the country illegally. [ more ]

silive

Public health

D.A. reveals OD stats for 2023: 'This should stop every Staten Islander in their tracks'

STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. - In what District Attorney Michael E. McMahon calls the "crisis of our lifetimes," drug overdoses claimed the lives of people on Staten Island and throughout New York City at alarming rates in 2023.

Los Angeles Times

Public health

2023 is already San Francisco's deadliest year for drug overdoses

San Francisco has already surpassed the previous record for fatal drug overdoses in 2023

More than 80% of the overdose deaths involved fentanyl [ more ]

Los Angeles Times

Public health

'It's absolutely heartbreaking': Fentanyl is officially Los Angeles County's deadliest drug

Fentanyl is now the leading cause of fatal overdoses in Los Angeles County, surpassing methamphetamine.

Overdoses in general have increased in almost every measure from the prior year, exacerbating the opioid crisis. [ more ]

Axios

Artificial intelligence

AI is helping catch fentanyl traffickers

Customs and Border Protection agents are using AI to track down precursor chemicals used in fentanyl production in Mexico.

Altana, a startup that operates a global supply chain platform, is helping CBP agents map fentanyl ingredient supply chains. [ more ]

www.france24.com

Left-wing politics

Biden, Xi agree to restore military ties despite 'dictator' comment

President Biden and President Xi Jinping agreed to restore military communications at their summit.

Biden referred to Xi as a 'dictator' during the summit.

China and the US remain far apart on the issue of Taiwan. [ more ]

New York Post