Justice Department Initiative Targeting Synthetic Opioids Will Hyper-Focus On Counties To Try To Eradicate Drugs

The Associated Press: Federal Prosecutors To Focus On Synthetic Opioids
Federal prosecutors in eight states with high drug overdose death rates will pursue even seemingly small synthetic opioid cases under a program announced Thursday by Attorney General Jeff Sessions. Sessions announced Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge in New Hampshire, which Republican President Donald Trump has called a "drug-infested den." The program is modeled after a successful effort in Manatee County, Florida, and will involve prosecutors each choosing one county in which to pursue every "readily provable" case involving the sale of fentanyl and other synthetic opioids, regardless of the quantity involved. (Ramer, 7/12)

NH Times Union: AG Sessions Promises To Drop Federal Hammer On NH Dealers Of Deadly Synthetic Dope
Sessions said he will add an additional prosecutor to the office of U.S. Attorney in New Hampshire as part of the nationwide effort, labeled Operation Synthetic Opioid Surge. “When it comes to fentanyl dealers, there is really no such thing as a small case,” Sessions said. Sessions announced Operation SOS after meeting the federal law enforcement officers and prosecutors at the U.S. District Court offices in Concord, followed by a similar meeting with state and local officers. Other prosecutors will be provided to areas of Ohio, Tennessee, Kenucky, West Virginia, Maine, California, and Pennsylvania. All have some of the highest overdose death rates in the country, Sessions said, ranking New Hampshire and Ohio second behind only West Virginia. (Hayward, 7/12)

More news on the epidemic comes out of Maryland, North Carolina, New York, Pennsylvania, Texas and Massachusetts, as well—

The Baltimore Sun: CVS To Place Opioid Disposal Containers In Its Stores
CVS is putting containers in its retail stores where people can dispose of unused prescription drugs as a way to fight an opioid epidemic that has killed thousands of people across the country. The containers are designed to get unused opioids out of people’s houses, CVS officials said in announcing the initiative Thursday. People addicted to opioids sometimes get the drugs from the medicine cabinets of families and friends without their knowledge. (McDaniels, 7/12)

North Carolina Health News: Families Who Have Lost To Opioid Overdose Take Action
Debbie Dalton was sitting at her kitchen table in Cornelius writing Christmas cards the week after Thanksgiving 2016 when she received a devastating phone call. The caller ID said “Hunter,” the name of her then-23-year-old son who recently graduated college and moved to Raleigh to work at Citrix. (Knopf, 7/12)

The Associated Press: ‘It Keeps Us Safe’: An NYC Bathroom Set Up To Stem Overdoses
At an unassuming storefront on a busy Brooklyn street, people sign up to use a bathroom outfitted to try to curb an overdose crisis. Waiting his turn, a man named Robert is frank about why he’s there, instead of one of the stairwells, parks, rooftops or porches where he has used heroin in the past. “It keeps us safe. It keeps us from getting arrested. You feel secure here,” says Robert, who discussed his drug use on condition that his last name not be used because he fears arrest and damage to family relationships. “You know that someone’s paying attention if you fall out in there. ... You know they’re not going to let nothing happen to you.” (Peltz, 7/13)

The Philadelphia Inquirer: Independence Blue Cross Reports Dramatic Drop In Opioid Prescriptions Among Members
Blue Cross Blue Shield members are being prescribed fewer opioids at lower doses, the insurance giant said in a report released Thursday. Officials said they’re “making headway” in a crisis that killed tens of thousands in 2016. In the Philadelphia region — which includes parts of Pennsylvania, Maryland, New Jersey, and Delaware, and where Independence Blue Cross is the largest private insurer — opioid prescriptions among BCBS members dropped by 32 percent between 2013 and 2017. (Whelan, 7/13)

Austin American-Statesman: Travis County Deputies Now Equipped With Opioid-Reversing Naloxone
All Travis County sheriff’s patrol deputies will now carry the life-saving drug naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. The Texas Overdose Naloxone Initiative, which works to get the drug into the hands of law enforcement, first responders and addicts, gifted the department with the medication, also known by the brand name Narcan. (Huber, 7/12)

Boston Globe: House Backs Plan To Try Addiction Medications In Some Prisons
The House voted unanimously late Wednesday to adopt its own version of Governor Charlie Baker’s legislation to address the opioid crisis, adding an amendment from Worcester Representative James J. O’Day that goes partway toward meeting the entreaties of advocates for addicted inmates. ... Currently most jails and all prisons in Massachusetts deny inmates access to the main medications used to treat opioid addiction — methadone and buprenorphine (often known by a trade name, Suboxone). (Freyer, 7/12)

WBUR: Cities Planning Supervised Drug Injection Sites Fear Justice Department Reaction
In parts of the country hit hard by addiction, some public health officials are considering running sites where people can use heroin and other illegal drugs under medical supervision. Advocates say these facilities, known as supervised injection sites, save lives that would otherwise be lost to overdoses and provide a bridge to treatment. (Allyn, 7/12)