drug abuse

Kansas-City-based Shaman Botanicals LLC — the leading supplier of 7-OH in Missouri — received letters from both the FDA and Missouri Attorney General Catherine Hanaway.

For years, the Missouri Department of Corrections cobbled together death records from multiple sources. New data reveals, for the first time, that hundreds of people died in state prisons between 2018 to 2024.

Kansas City’s Wellness Court is partnering with a local yoga studio to offer a program called “Healing Justice.” It combines yoga, meditation, and cognitive behavioral therapy to reduce stress and recidivism among nonviolent offenders.

7-OH is sold as gummies, candies, imitation ice cream cones, liquid shots, tablets and powders. Kansas City-based Shaman Botanicals has been at the center of the drug's rise, and received a warning from the FDA.

For nearly a decade, overdoses have killed hundreds of Missourians annually as deadly synthetic opioids circulated among drug users. The latest data indicates the decrease in deaths could indicate a sustained trend.

A new three-part investigative series from The Kansas City Star highlights the rise of the drug 7-OH — a highly concentrated opioid-like substance derived from kratom — and the role of a Kansas City company in its growing popularity.

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services appears poised to cut a $56 million annual grant program that pays for some of Missouri's overdose reversal medication and training.

A Wellness Court opened this month within Kansas City's Municipal Court, replacing the separate mental health and drug courts. The new approach offers a unique focus on co-occurring issues and lowers the barriers for people to get help.

Missouri officials say the overdose reversal drug naloxone helped contribute to the first decrease in drug-related deaths since 2015.

Missouri lawmakers will consider dozens of health-related bills this session. Topics like insulin pricing, food labeling and mental health are top of mind, as well as efforts to reverse the abortion rights amendment passed by voters in November.

Victims of the opioid crisis, health advocates, and policy experts have called on state and local governments to clearly report how they’re using the funds they are receiving from settlements with opioid companies. So where are Missouri's dollars going?

Drug overdose deaths are dropping across the Kansas City metro area, matching recently announced national trends. It’s a stark reversal from previous years, and health experts hope these positive changes continue.