King County man bought pounds of fentanyl through mail, prosecutors say
BURIEN, Wash. -- A King County man faces federal charges after allegedly buying hundreds of grams of the powerful opioid fentanyl from Hong Kong and China and shipping it to his home.Gregory L.
Mother shares heartbreaking photo after daughter dies from heroin overdose
DETROIT -- A Michigan mother hopes a heartbreaking photo of her holding her daughter before she was taken off life support raises awareness of addiction.Cheryl Towery made the decision on Monday to take daughter Elaina Towery off life support after her vital organs were failing and a scan showed no brain activity, according to WJBK.Elaina has battled issues with addiction for years and is believed to have died from an overdose of heroin laced with fentanyl.Cheryl says her daughter and a friend stopped at Burger King Thursday evening."She pulled in here to use the restroom and after 20-25 minutes, he thought it was odd she didn't come back out," Cheryl told WJBK.A short time later, employees found the 22-year-old unconscious and going into cardiac arrest.Elaina had survived five previous overdoses and visits to five different treatment centers, but this time was different.Elaina's addiction began in 2010 when she started taking prescription drugs to deal with an abusive boyfriend.That boyfriend, who was convicted of domestic abuse, is also the father of Elaina’s 5-year-old son.
Renton City Council votes against safe drug-injection site, but some residents favor idea
RENTON, Wash. -- The Renton City Council unanimously passed a resolution Monday night banning safe drug-consumption sites in the city.It's the fourth city to take such an action after King County announced earlier that it will set up two safe consumption, or injection, sites -- one in Seattle and the other elsewhere in the county.
Fewer armed robberies, home burglaries in Pierce County -- but mail theft, heroin use up
TACOMA, Wash. -- In the first six months of 2017, Pierce County sheriff’s deputies say an analysis of the crime statistics shows armed robberies and home burglaries are down.Detectives say one reason may be that more people have surveillance and security systems in their homes, which makes for harder targets for crooks.
'Racism is evil:' Trump calls KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists 'repugnant'
President Donald Trump directly condemned white supremacists and neo-Nazis in a statement from the White House Monday afternoon."Racism is evil -- and those who cause violence in its name are criminals and thugs, including KKK, neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and other hate groups are repugnant to everything we hold dear as Americans," Trump said in response to the attacks in Charlottesville, Virginia, over the weekend."Those who spread violence in the name of bigotry strike at the very core of America," Trump said.RELATED: Police arrest 3, confiscate weapons as hundreds protest peacefully in SeattleDemocrats and Republicans have excoriated Trump for his unwillingness to condemn the groups behind the violent protests that left one woman dead who was allegedly hit by a car driven by a man with ties to white supremacy groups.After blaming the violence "on many sides" Saturday, Trump stayed silent for close to 48 hours.
Three nurses revived with Narcan after opioid patient treated at Ohio hospital
MASSILLON, Ohio-- Three nurses at an Ohio hospital who helped treat an overdose patient were overcome by secondary exposure and had to be treated with an emergency drug.Massillon police said they believe the substance the nurses were exposed to was fentanyl."They were cleaning up the room and started to feel sick.
Elderly most likely to be hospitalized for opioids in Washington state
BELLEVUE, Wash. – Overlake Medical Center medical professionals want to shed light on the least talked about victims of the opioid crisis -- the elderly.A U.S. Department of Health and Human Services report says elderly people are the most likely to be hospitalized for opioids in Washington state.
Pierce County declares opioid abuse a public health crisis
TACOMA, Wash. – Washington state’s opioid and drug addiction situation appears to be growing.A University of Washington study released Thursday said drug overdose deaths in King County were the highest ever in 2016, claiming 332 people.On Tuesday, Pierce County government leaders told Gov.
Safe heroin injection sites facing bans in more communities
SEATTLE – Three King County cities have rejected the idea of a safe drug-consumption facility from opening in their communities.The safe injection sites would be the first-of-its kind in America, and a place where addicts could get high under medical supervision and receive life-saving care in cases of overdose.But after so many cities have banned or are considering bans, is there any chance of opening one outside the city of Seattle?So far both the county and city agree one facility should open in Seattle; the other is needed somewhere else in the county.“This is not primarily a moral challenge, this is not primarily a criminal justice issue,” said King County Executive Dow Constantine. “This is a public health crisis and we have to treat it that way.”
Chicago man sentenced to 6 years for distributing heroin linked to Bellevue man's overdose death
SEATTLE -- A Chicago man was sentenced Tuesday in federal court in Seattle to six years in prison for distributing heroin that was linked to the overdose death of a 27-year-old Bellevue man in 2013.U.S. Attorney Annette Hayes said Kevin Campbell marketed and sold various drugs, including ecstasy, marijuana, steroids, prescription drugs, on the "dark Web."In August 2013, Campbell sold heroin and prescription pills to a 27-year-old Bellevue man, who died after shooting up with heroin.On a computer at the man's Bellevue home was the "Silk Road" website, an online black market (since shut down) where illegal goods and services were anonymously marketed and sold.
New detox facility set to double Snohomish County treatment capacity
LYNNWOOD, Wash. – More than 140 Americans die each day from overdosing on drugs, according to President Donald Trump’s commission on combating drug addiction.In a draft report released Monday, the commission asks the president to declare the opioid crisis a national emergency.It also suggests putting overdose-reversing drugs into the hands of cops across the country and require naloxone be prescribed side-by-side with high-risk drugs.
A measure to ban drug consumption sites for addicts may be going on ballot
BOTHELL, Wash. – It’s a solution to our area’s drug problem some say could create more harm than good.
Safe-injection site opponents on pace to take issue to vote in November
SEATTLE -- Opponents of safe-injection sites in King County say they will submit more than enough signatures to place an initiative banning the sites on the November ballot.These sites would allow people to use heroin and other drugs in front of medical personnel, who would encourage treatment options.
Parents accused of giving opioids to baby on day she was born
UTAH COUNTY, Utah - Two Utah parents are in jail after allegedly giving their infant daughter opioids on the day she was born.
Florida boy, 10, dies of fentanyl overdose after visiting swimming pool
MIAMI – A 10-year-old Florida boy became one of the youngest victims of the state's opioid crisis after he collapsed and died in June, authorities said Tuesday.Alton Banks, of Miami, died after a trip to a local swimming pool June 23.
Former heroin addict runs for Shoreline City Council
A young woman is running for Shoreline City Council on the premise she used to be a heroin addict. It’s one of the most unlikely platforms you’d think of for politics, but it’s exactly what Jin-Ah Kim said every city needs.
Parents share daughter's poem about heroin addiction in her obituary
SELINSGROVE, Pa. – "She definitely would have wanted me to do it."Those are the words of a Pennsylvania mother who decided to share her late daughter's strikingly honest poem about heroin addiction in the 23-year-old's obituary.Delaney Farrell was one of more than 50 people who overdosed in Lycoming County last week, authorities told WNEP.
Pregnant woman who overdosed on heroin charged with assault
EAST BUTLER, Pa. (AP) — A woman who overdosed on heroin while she was seven months pregnant has been charged with assault of an unborn child.Kasey Dischman, 30, of Evans City, was arraigned Wednesday on a single count of aggravated assault on an unborn child, who was delivered a day after the overdose and is now on life support.
Autopsy: Carrie Fisher had cocaine, heroin, ecstasy in her system when she became ill on flight last year
LOS ANGELES -- Carrie Fisher's autopsy report shows the actress had cocaine in her system when she fell ill on a plane last year, but investigators could not determine what impact the cocaine and other drugs found in her system had on her death.The report released Monday states Fisher may have taken cocaine three days before the Dec. 23 flight on which she became ill.