USA Today: Missouri Counties Do What State Won’t: Track Opioid Sales

“Fed up that Missouri is the only state that doesn’t track the prescription and sale of opioids, some of its biggest cities and counties have created their own monitoring system to help combat the increasingly popular and highly addictive drugs. Forty-nine states have established prescription drug monitoring programs, or PDMPs, which require pharmacies to report…

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NACo Town hall on the Opioid Epidemic: Leading in a Crisis

In countless communities across the nation, abuse of prescription drugs and heroin has reached epidemic levels, leading to unprecedented rates of drug overdoses and related fatalities. As this public health crisis has unfolded, local leaders are formulating effective responses. Much progress has been made on this front, but much work remains to be done. During…

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King County and Seattle to open safe injection sites for opioids

The Community Health Engagement Locations (CHELs) will be more than an alternative to taking drugs in public without the risk of overdose. They’ll be staffed with medical and counseling personnel and will represent a public health-oriented approach to the epidemic, complementing the criminal justice side that cracks down on dealers and drug traffickers. The task…

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