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A rare look inside one Mexican cartel’s fentanyl operation, and how the drug reaches the U.S.
By: PBS Newshour
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WASHINGTON, D.C. (NewsHour) — The opioid epidemic has ravaged the United States, with the drug fentanyl, a synthetic opioid, delivering particularly fatal outcomes. Fentanyl’s high potency combined with its low production cost has allowed powerful Mexican cartels to create and sell the drug in massive quantities. With the support of the Pulitzer Center, special NewsHour correspondent… Read More

Parkersburg Bars New Residential Drug Treatment Centers For A Year
By: Associated Press
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PARKERSBURG, W.Va. (AP) — A West Virginia city has approved a moratorium on residential drug treatment facilities. The Parkersburg News and Sentinel reports the Parkersburg City Council voted 8-1 Tuesday to approve an ordinance that bars new centers until June 30, 2022. The vote came after multiple people spoke to support and oppose the proposal… Read More

The FDA Has Approved A New Alzheimer’s Drug — Here’s Why That’s Controversial
By: Scott Hensley | Jon Hamilton | Laurel Wamsley | NPR
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This is the first new drug approved for Alzheimer’s disease since 2003. It’s the first to show significant progress against the sticky brain plaques that are the hallmark of Alzheimer’s disease.

Arrest Made In Suspected Catalytic Converter Theft Ring
By: David Forster
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ATHENS, Ohio (WOUB) — A monthslong investigation into a rash of catalytic converter thefts in Athens County led to an arrest last week. David L. Willison of Chauncey was indicted by a grand jury Wednesday on a charge of engaging in a pattern of corrupt activity. Willison, 45, was arrested Thursday. He was arraigned Friday… Read More

Athens Co. Search Warrant Nets Seven Arrests on Drug Charges
By: WOUB News Team
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CHAUNCEY, Ohio — Seven Athens County residents face multiple charges related to drug crimes after authorities executed a search warrant in Chauncey. Multiple law enforcement units made the arrests Tuesday at 24 Fourth Street, where suspected crack cocaine, heroin, suspected fentanyl and Schedule II prescribed narcotics packaged for sale, were located and seized. Drug use and… Read More

W. Va. Board Revokes License of Doctor Who Wrote Illegal Scripts
By: Associated Press
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MILTON, W.Va. (AP) – A West Virginia doctor who admitted in state and federal court to writing illegal opioid prescriptions and possessing drugs has had his license revoked. Records show the state medicine board took away Marc Spelar’s license to practice psychiatry last week. Spelar, of Milton, was charged in federal court this year with… Read More

Ohio Senate President Pledges Action on Drug Sentencing Bill
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) – The leader of the Ohio Senate is pledging to take action by year’s end on a bill designed to reduce low-level drug possessions to misdemeanors and increase penalties for drug dealers. The legislation is part of a long-running attempt by lawmakers to reduce Ohio’s prison population. Senate President Larry Obhof, a… Read More

Task Force Seizes Large Quantity of Suspected Fentanyl
By: Associated Press
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DAYTON, Ohio (AP) – Authorities say a joint task force in Ohio has seized a quantity of suspected fentanyl large enough to kill the state’s population “many times over.” A Montgomery County sheriff’s news release says law enforcement recently confiscated over 20 kilograms, or more than 40 pounds, of suspected fentanyl. Investigators also seized quantities… Read More

Kentucky AG Announces 2 Drug-related Settlements
By: Associated Press
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FRANKFORT, Ky. (AP) – Kentucky’s attorney general has announced two separate settlements totaling nearly $40 million that involve a drug company and a drug distributor. Attorney General Andy Beshear said Wednesday his office has secured a $17 million settlement with Bayer Corp. over claims it misled women about risks associated with its birth control drugs,… Read More

Coroner Issues Alert After 10 Fatal Overdoses in 26 Hours
By: Associated Press
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COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — An Ohio county coroner has issued an alert after 10 overdose deaths were reported within 26 hours. The Franklin County Coroner’s Office posted on Facebook on Sunday, calling the number of overdoses “unusually high” for that period. Dr. Anahi Ortiz, the county coroner, says residents with family or friends at risk… Read More

17 Charged in California-to-West Virginia Drug Operation
By: Associated Press
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CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) — Federal prosecutors say 17 people have been charged with distributing methamphetamine and heroin in shipments from California to West Virginia. U.S. Attorney Mike Stuart announced the charges in a statement Wednesday. The statement says packages containing meth were being shipped from the San Diego area to southern West Virginia through postal… Read More

Fourteen Charged in Alleged Athens County Drug Ring
By: WOUB News Team
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UPDATE 11:30 A.M. 8/23 – Two more people allegedly connected to an Athens County drug ring have been apprehended and appeared in court. Athens County Common Pleas Judge George McCarthy set bond at $250,000 for Kasandra Curry, according to the Athens County Prosecutor’s Office. Curry is accused of buying enough heroin and methamphetamine to sell on… Read More

Feds Seize Estimated $1 Billion In Cocaine From Ship In Philadelphia
By: Scott Neuman | NPR
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The drugs were reportedly found in seven containers aboard the MSC Gayane at Philadelphia’s Packer Marine Terminal. Authorities say it is one of the biggest-ever drug busts in the U.S.

States Sue Drugmakers Over Alleged Generic Price-Fixing Scheme
By: Selena Simmons-Duffin | NPR
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A new lawsuit brought by 44 states and Puerto Rico alleges an “industry-wide” conspiracy by generic drug manufacturers to collude on prices and divide up the market.

Court To Review Lethal Drug Records Ohio Wants To Shield
By: Andrew Welsh-Huggins | Associated Press
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Ohio’s prison system must produce records about lethal drugs it wants shielded from public view for justices on the state Supreme Court to review privately as part of an open records dispute, the court ruled. At issue is a lawyer’s request for multiple records about Ohio’s lethal injection drugs, including who made them and when… Read More

The Plains Man Arrested On Drug Charges On South Green
By: Susan Tebben
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A man from The Plains was arrested after he was allegedly caught speeding and a canine unit detected suspected drugs in the vehicle. Christian A. Thomas, 33, of 1st Street, was charged with having weapons while under disability, along with charges of improperly handling a firearm in a motor vehicle, possession of a controlled substance,… Read More

Road Crew Finds Remnants Of Meth Lab
By: Athens Messenger staff reports
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A York Twp. road crew found what turned out to be a “one pot” meth lab that apparently was discarded along a roadway. According to a news release from the Athens County Sheriff’s Office, the road repair crew noticed a suspicious bottle Thursday along Ten Spot Road, Nelsonville. The bottle might have been thrown from… Read More

Medical Group To Campaign To Stop Prescription Abuse In Ohio
By: Associated Press
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An Ohio medical group plans a statewide public health effort to help reduce prescription pill abuse and addiction. The Ohio State Medical Association says it will be partnering with major hospital systems across the state in the Smart Rx program that will include training for doctors who prescribe medications to help patients deal with pain… Read More

Vinton County Makes Arrests Related to Bath Salts, Methamphetamine
Bath salts and methamphetamine led to unrelated arrests in Vinton County. Andrew L. Barstow, 24, of Albany; and Robert Sheppard, 34, of Athens, were arrested on March 13 at a residence on Zimmerman Road where deputies from the Vinton County Sheriff’s Office allegedly found evidence of a meth lab outside. After searching the residence and… Read More