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Fentanyl is driving an overdose crisis that’s proving especially deadly for Black Missourians. Now St. Louis and Kansas City are starting to see the effects, but health experts say that existing efforts to treat substance use disorder aren’t helping the people who need it most.
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In the first three quarters of 2021, there were 780 overdose deaths in the St. Louis region, about the same as during the same period in 2020, according to the Missouri Institute of Mental Health at the University of Missouri-St. Louis. The St. Louis area accounted for nearly half of fatalities statewide.
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St. Louis County is set to receive $45 million from the settlement with drugmakers and manufacturers, which will be paid out in portions over more than a decade. The county could use the money to upgrade the medical examiner's office, which is swamped with overdose victims, County Executive Sam Page said.
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The money will fund addiction treatment and prevention programs in the state, addressing the harm inflicted by the opioid crisis.
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Betty Frizzell is the former police chief of Winfield, Missouri. Her memoir, “If You Can’t Quit Cryin’, You Can’t Come Here No More," explores her family's history of poverty, crime and mental illness.
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The synthetic opioid has continued to spread widely, with no signs of stopping. But, despite what many assume, there are tools at our disposal to help.
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Some in public health now argue that when providers use such monitoring programs to cut off prescription opiate misuse, people who have an addiction instead turn to heroin and fentanyl.
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St. Louis University sociology professor Elizabeth Chiarello outlines ways the state should spend the $450 million it will receive from a lawsuit against manufacturers and distributors of addictive opioid painkillers.
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Missouri agreed to settle a lawsuit against opioid manufacturer Johnson & Johnson and three distributors for their part in the opioid crisis. But before states can collect, they must ask many cities and towns to drop their own lawsuits against the companies.
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Gov. Mike Parson has signed a bill that advocates say will help prevent opioid abuse after nearly a decade of failed attempts.