drugs

In 2021, drug overdose deaths increased by 43% from the previous year in Kansas and constituted the No. 1 cause of death among adults aged 18 to 44 in Missouri. An addiction treatment center in Paola, Kansas, that opens its doors this month hopes to help reverse those trends.

The Kansas City chapter of Full Circle wants to help young people find enthusiasm for addiction recovery.

If passed in November, Amendment 3 would legalize adult-use marijuana in Missouri. But advocates say that some specifics in the amendment are cause for worry and plan to fight against the measure.

The Kansas City Police Department says officers have seen an increase in accidental fentanyl-related overdoses in individuals ages 15 to 24.

From January 2019 to January 2020, 1,597 Missourians died from overdoses. Over the next 12 months, that number increased to 1,952, according to CDC data. However, a federal grant to help Missouri purchase and distribute naloxone has expired.

Kansans with substance use problems say they are falling through the cracks of a legal system that’s more concerned with punishing them than getting them sober. And, a transmission line that would deliver wind energy from southwest Kansas to other parts of the country has some Missouri farmers concerned about the use of eminent domain to complete the project.

Joe Biden granted clemency for the first time in his presidency Tuesday. He focused his attention commuting the sentences of people convicted of low-level, nonviolent drug offenses. Five are from Missouri.

Dawn Huston served seven years and nine months in prison before Gov. Mike Parson commuted her sentence.

Henry, best known locally for designing the Verruckt water slide in Kansas City, Kansas, that caused the death of a young boy, faces up to 57 months in prison if he violates his probation.

Consumers and insurers charged that Mylan, Pfizer and other companies engaged in an illegal scheme to monopolize the EpiPen market by hiking the device’s price from $100 to $600.

Since August 2020, more than 200 people have started treatment for drug addiction at the Crawford County Jail. Most continued their treatment after leaving jail.

Loopholes in state residency requirements have led to an influx of out-of-state investment through ‘ghost owners.’