Tag: drug abuse
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Hepatitis C is on the rise in Appalachian Kentucky, and dirty needles are to blame; officials predict surge of HIV to follow
Kentucky has the highest rate of acute hepatitis C in the nation and public officials predict it could get much worse, Claire Galofaro and Dylan Lovan report for the Kentucky...
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Paducah Sun looks at two local doctors who write many prescriptions for painkillers; such local data are easily available
The Paducah Sun has used some easily available information about two local doctors to shine a local light on their heavy prescribing of opioids. The story by Laurel Black begins,...
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Free overdose-reversal kits are given to Kentucky hospitals with the highest recent rates of heroin-overdose deaths
Kentucky hospitals with the highest rates of heroin overdose deaths are receiving funding for heroin/opiate overdose reversal kits, which will be provided free of charge to every treated and discharged...
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State health commissioner backs needle exchanges, most controversial part of anti-heroin legislation passed this year
The Kentucky General Assembly cracked down in 2012 on “pill mills” that dispense painkillers irresponsibly, and addicts responded by going for heroin, creating a big problem in much of the...
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Congress is taking on opoid abuse and the nationwide increase in drug overdoses
Federal officials have become increasingly concerned about the rapid increase in drug overdoses across the country. The House Energy and Commerce Committee, in a series of hearings on the topic,...
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Kentucky led the nation in hepatitis C cases in 2013; state’s rate rose 357 percent from 2007 to 2011
By Tim Mandell Kentucky Health News Kentucky had the nation’s highest rate of hepatitis C in 2013, with 5.1 cases per every 100,000 people, says a report by the federal Centers...
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Polling shows Kentucky ranks third in share of residents, 24.5 percent, who say they take mood-altering drugs every day
Kentucky is the place to be for mood-altering drugs. The state ranked third in a Gallup Organization study that asked 450 adults in each state how often they use drugs and...
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Heroin bill finally passes and is signed into law; Naloxone program put into motion; dating-violence bill sent to Beshear
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News The long-negotiated bill to tackle Kentucky’s heroin-overdose epidemic passed in the final hours of the 2015 legislative session. Almost immediately after the heroin bill...
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As session nears end, bills on heroin, dating-violence orders, managed-care appeals and lawsuit review panels are hanging fire
By Melissa Patrick Kentucky Health News FRANKFORT, Ky. – The General Assembly has sent Gov. Steve Beshear four health-related bills, and several more could reach his desk in the legislative...
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Poll shows more issues with heroin, fewer with pain pills
The latest Kentucky Health Issues Poll backs up law-enforcement opinion that Kentucky’s metropolitan areas are experiencing increased problems with heroin use as misuse of prescription pain relievers such as OxyContin, Vicodin,...