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☆ Top Biden Official Calls for Inquiry Into Chinese Doping Case
▼ + stars: | 2024-04-22 | by ( Michael S. Schmidt | Tariq Panja | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration’s top drug official called on Monday for an independent investigation into how Chinese and global antidoping authorities decided to clear 23 elite Chinese swimmers who tested positive for a banned drug months before the Summer Olympics in 2021. The official, Rahul Gupta, who is the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy, said that he planned to bring up the handling of the positive tests during a two-day meeting of sports ministers in Washington. Top members of the World Anti-Doping Agency are scheduled to attend the event, which starts Thursday. “The United States stands by its commitment to ensure that every American athlete and those across the globe are provided a level playing field and a fair shot in international athletic competitions,” Dr. Gupta said in response to questions from The New York Times. “There must be rigorous, independent investigations to look into any incident of potential wrongdoing.”

Persons: Rahul Gupta, “, ” Dr, Gupta Organizations: Biden, of National Drug Control, Doping Agency, The New York Times Locations: Washington, United States

“It just says, ‘test strips for deadly drugs will be exempted from drug paraphernalia,’” Rohrbach said. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesUnder West Virginia law, drug paraphernalia could be hypodermic syringes, needles, capsules, and balloons, among other items. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention has described drug test strips as a low-cost method of helping prevent drug overdoses. The proportion of drug overdose deaths involving heroin has declined in recent years. Fentanyl and fentanyl analogues were involved in 76% of all drug overdose deaths occurring in West Virginia in 2021, up from 58% in 2017.

Persons: Jim Justice, Justice hasn't, we’ve, Matthew Rohrbach, Rohrbach, ” Rohrbach Organizations: Republican Gov, Justice, Republican, West, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, CDC, White, National Drug Control Locations: CHARLESTON, W.Va, West Virginia, U.S, Carfentanil

(AP) — The South Dakota House passed a bill Wednesday that would make xylazine, an animal sedative that is being mixed with fentanyl and then used by some people, a controlled substance. The measure, which passed unanimously in the Republican-held House and now goes to the Senate, would establish penalties of up to two years in prison and fines of up to $4,000 for possession and use of xylazine. Xylazine in humans can cause health problems including difficulty breathing, dangerously low blood pressure, a slowed heart rate, wounds that can become infected and even death, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Last year the Office of National Drug Control Policy designated the combination of fentanyl and xylazine as an “ emerging threat.”The South Dakota Health Department and Republican state Attorney General Marty Jackley brought the bill in South Dakota. Political Cartoons View All 253 ImagesPolice are encountering xylazine in the state, mainly in Sioux Falls, he said.

Persons: PIERRE, S.D, Marty Jackley, Jackley, they've, ” Jackley Organizations: South Dakota House, Republican, Centers for Disease Control, of National Drug Control, South Dakota Health Department Locations: South Dakota, Sioux Falls

Experts say new steps China has agreed to will eventually reduce the flow of the deadly opioid fentanyl into the U.S., but that alone will not stem the overdose crisis killing Americans at a record rate. Synthetic opioids are now the biggest killers in the deadliest drug crisis the U.S. has ever seen. More than two-thirds of those deaths — more than 200 per day — involved fentanyl or similar synthetic drugs. It's in counterfeit pills and cocaine, in some cases causing overdoses in people who have no idea that they're using fentanyl. A growing number of places are allowing drug screening kits so users can find out if their drugs include fentanyl.

Persons: Joe Biden, Xi Jinping, ”, Adam Wandt, “, Wandt, Kevin Roy, ” Roy, Rahul Gupta, it’s, Donald Trump, It's, Xi, ” Biden, Xi’s, Wang Wenbin, they're, we’re, Regina LaBelle, Biden, Andres Manuel Lopez, LaBelle, Didi Tang Organizations: John Jay College of Criminal, of National Drug Control, U.S . Centers for Disease Control, San Francisco Wednesday, Chinese Foreign Ministry, International Narcotics, U.S, Georgetown University’s O’Neill, Associated Locations: China, U.S, California, America, Mexico, U.S . China, San Francisco, United States

☆ White House unveils plan to eliminate threat of fentanyl laced with xylazine
▼ + stars: | 2023-07-11 | by ( Annika Kim Constantino | ) www.cnbc.com time to read: +3 min

The Biden administration unveiled a plan Tuesday to eliminate the growing threat of fentanyl laced with xylazine, an illegal street drug cocktail that is fueling a wave of overdose deaths. It also aims to disrupt the illegal xylazine supply chain, among other efforts. Those agencies must develop and submit an implementation report to the White House in 60 days. The White House plan's long-term goal is a 15% reduction in xylazine-positive drug overdoses in at least three of four U.S. Census regions by 2025. Every one of these numbers is tragic," White House domestic policy advisor Neera Tanden said during a call with reporters.

Persons: Biden, Joe Biden's, Dr, Rahul Gupta, Xylazine, Neera Tanden Organizations: New York, Centers for Disease Control, and Drug Administration, White House, White, Office of National Drug Control, CDC, House

☆ In Jails and Prisons, the White House Sees a Chance to Curtail Opioid Overdoses
▼ + stars: | 2023-04-21 | by ( Noah Weiland | ) www.nytimes.com time to read: +1 min

The Biden administration this week accelerated efforts to fund opioid addiction treatment in jails and prisons, a core part of its drug policy agenda, calling on states to adopt a novel Medicaid program that will cover health care for incarcerated people. Under new guidance from the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, states can ask the federal government to allow Medicaid to cover addiction treatment for up to 90 days ahead of someone’s release. Public health experts say that providing treatment during that critical period could help people survive the often harsh conditions of jails and prisons, then more easily transition back to the community. “That’s where most people are, and that’s where you’re going to get the most benefit,” said Dr. Rahul Gupta, the director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, referring to the high concentration of incarcerated Americans with opioid use disorder. Neglecting to treat addiction in jails and prisons, he added, comes at the “highest cost to society, to taxpayers.”

☆ More than 180,000 people overdosed on opioids and survived in the past year, new White House dashboard shows
▼ + stars: | 2022-12-08 | by ( Jacqueline Howard | ) edition.cnn.com time to read: +5 min

This first-of-its-kind dashboard was developed to track nonfatal opioid overdoses, which have become a growing public health concern as the US struggles with a decades-long opioid epidemic. It will “empower local communities” to tailor their opioid overdose responses and track their progress, Gupta said. “We know that there are significantly more nonfatal overdoses than fatal ones, of which there are over 100,000 a year. Across the United States, the powerful synthetic opioid fentanyl has become the most commonly used drug involved in drug overdoses. In 2020, a report from the CDC found that opioids have “substantial involvement” in nonfatal overdoses, including those involving other types of drugs, and these types of nonfatal overdoses are on the rise.

A Cataldo Ambulance medic holds used doses of naloxone after medics revived a man in his 40's who was found unresponsive from an opioid overdose in the Boston suburb of Salem, Massachusetts, U.S., August 9, 2017. REUTERS/Brian SnyderWASHINGTON, Sept 23 (Reuters) - U.S. President Joe Biden will announce on Friday nearly $1.5 billion to fund access to medications for opioid overdoses, sanctions against traffickers, and increased funding for law enforcement, the White House said. The Biden administration is keen to show it is taking action on a worsening nationwide opioid crisis, which according to U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention data fueled more than 107,000 drug overdose deaths in 2021, a nearly 15% increase from the previous year. Biden will announce nearly $1.5 billion in grants from the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to states, tribal lands and territories, said Miriam Delphin-Rittmon, assistant secretary for mental health and substance use. The funds will go toward treating substance-use disorders and removing barriers to key tools like naloxone, a medication that can reverse opioid overdoses, Delphin-Rittmon said.

☆ Colombia's Petro calls on Latin America to unite against war on drugs
▼ + stars: | 2022-09-20 | by ( ) www.reuters.com time to read: +2 min

Colombia's President Gustavo Petro addresses the 77th Session of the United Nations General Assembly at U.N. Headquarters in New York City, U.S., September 20, 2022. REUTERS/Brendan McDermidSept 20 (Reuters) - Colombian President Gustavo Petro called on Latin American countries to join forces to end the war on drugs during a speech to the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Tuesday. Petro, Colombia's first leftist president, has long derided the global war on drugs as a failure, even using his inauguration speech in August to call for a new international strategy to fight drug trafficking. read more"From my wounded Latin America, I demand you end the irrational war on drugs," Petro said, while calling on the wider Latin American community to unite to defeat that "which torments our body." Register now for FREE unlimited access to Reuters.com RegisterReporting by Oliver Griffin Editing by Marguerita ChoyOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles.

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