Latest news with #StateUnintentionalDrugOverdoseReportingSystem
Yahoo
25-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
SD uses portion of opioid settlement funds to distribute overdose prevention kits
Naloxone harm reduction kits will be available in some public spaces across South Dakota due to a partnership between the state and Emily's Hope, officials announced on April 25, 2025. (Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight) About 20,000 opioid overdose prevention kits will be distributed across South Dakota thanks to a partnership between the state and Sioux Falls-based nonprofit Emily's Hope. The kits are filled with naloxone, an antidote for opioid overdoses, along with other resources and information. Emily's Hope founder and CEO Angela Kennecke, whose daughter died from a fentanyl overdose in 2018, announced the partnership in Sioux Falls on Friday alongside South Dakota Attorney General Marty Jackley, state Health Department Secretary Melissa Magstadt and state Social Services Department Secretary Matt Althoff. The distribution is funded with $350,000 of South Dakota's $78.6 million 'and counting' in national opioid settlement funds, Jackley said. The national opioid settlements were reached to resolve opioid litigation against pharmaceutical distributors and manufacturers accused of flooding communities with opioid painkillers even though they allegedly knew how addictive and deadly the drugs were. South Dakota will receive about $50 million over the next 15 years from the first settlement and will receive another $28.6 million over the next 17 years from a settlement with Walgreens, CVS, Walmart, Teva and Allergan. 'That's what is so important about this partnership is it's putting those dollars back to work to save and protect people,' Jackley said. Teva pharmaceuticals donated 2,313 kits for the effort and sold the other kits at a discounted rate to the state. Ninety-five South Dakotans died from overdoses in 2023, according to the state Department of Health. Forty-seven of the deaths were opioid-related, and 39 of those were fentanyl-related, Magstadt said. Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid. 'Since 2019, we've had a 70% increase in the amount of fentanyl deaths in South Dakota,' Magstadt said. 'It's hitting home.' The program will target areas of the state impacted the most by opioid use, overdoses and death, officials said. The top 10 counties impacted, according to Emily's Hope, are Minnehaha, Lincoln, Pennington, Corson, Roberts, Turner, Todd, Oglala Lakota, Beadle and Meade. Although most overdose deaths are among white residents, Native Americans are disproportionately affected. Native Americans die from overdoses at a rate of 26.6 per 100,000 — more than four times the rate among white South Dakotans, according to the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System. The kits will be placed in publicly accessible areas, Kennecke said. Emily's Hope has been distributing naloxone kits, primarily in the Sioux Falls area, for nearly a year. The organization has distributed about 6,000 kits in that time. Although most overdoses occur in private residences, they also happen in public restrooms, in traffic or on the street, Kennecke said. Offering them in public allows more bystanders to access the drug and intervene. 'Our goal is to have one of these kits in every house, in every business, by every AED possible,' Kennecke said. AEDs are automated external defibrillators that help people in cardiac arrest, many of which are stationed in public areas and offices throughout the state. Magstadt called naloxone a 'one more chance' medicine, since it halts overdose symptoms and opens a window for people to seek treatment for opioid use disorder. Administering naloxone will not harm someone who isn't experiencing overdose, she said, and victims often appear sleepy while overdosing from opioid use. The state has distributed about 15,000 naloxone kits in the last eight years to law enforcement, emergency medical services and schools across the state using a federal grant. About 3,600 kits have been distributed to public spaces through the new program so far. South Dakota's current plan in the Department of Social Services is to put a majority of settlement dollars into a trust fund to gain interest over time. Althoff said he wants to ensure the money is spent wisely rather than 'spend this precious resource for the sake of spending.' Jackley told South Dakota Searchlight he doesn't agree with the trust fund approach and he'd rather see the funds be put toward prevention and treatment immediately. That includes funneling some of the settlement money toward rehabilitation for South Dakota prisoners, he said. 'Today, there was a minimal amount of money used from that settlement to save lives,' Jackley said. 'We need to do more of that.' SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
26-02-2025
- Yahoo
When can someone be charged in CT with manslaughter in connection with a drug overdose death?
Prosecutors in Connecticut can bring charges of manslaughter or murder in association with drug overdose deaths, but it doesn't happen very often. New London State's Attorney Paul Narducci said there are a number of factors involved in charging a defendant with manslaughter or murder for a drug overdose death. He said one factor is evidence that establishes whether or not a person knows the narcotics they are distributing contains fentanyl. According to WebMD, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain. It is much stronger than other opioids and is often added to illegal drugs without people knowing, according to WebMD. 'Very rarely do you see charges of murder that accompany a narcotics sale which leads to a death of another person,' Narducci said. 'Because in Connecticut, we have to establish that the person intended to cause the death and actually caused the death of that person.' According to Narducci, intent is difficult to prove unless a defendant purposefully laced narcotics with fentanyl in an attempt to kill someone. 'We have been charging manslaughter in the first degree, manslaughter in the second degree which bring about a death because it's based on reckless conduct,' Narducci said. 'And with the prevalence of fentanyl and the notoriety of fentanyl and the consequences of fentanyl, I think there's a better chance to establish that a person is acting recklessly when they distribute narcotics that are laced with fentanyl.' More: Overdose death in Norwich leads to manslaughter charges: What court records say One person charged with manslaughter in connection to a drug overdose death is Desiree Greene. An investigation by the Norwich Police Department and Connecticut State Police Bureau of Investigations Joint Task Force-East Field Office revealed Greene supplied a man with the lethal dose of narcotics prior to his death. Greene was subsequently charged with manslaughter in the second degree and the sale of narcotics. Her next court hearing is April 16 in New London Superior Court. When asked how often manslaughter and murder charges are brought in association with drug overdose deaths, New London State's Attorney Paul Narducci could not give a percentage. However, according to data from the State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System, drug overdose deaths have been on the rise in New London County since 2015. The number of drug overdose deaths in the county rose from 60 in 2015 to 134 in 2021. There were fewer drug overdose deaths in New London County in 2022 (125) and 2023 (80), but that number increased in 2024 to 94. The number of arrests made for drug/narcotic violations in Connecticut increased from 3,099 in 2022 to 3,184 in 2023, according to the Crime in Connecticut annual reports. The reports define these violations as the unlawful cultivation, manufacturing, distribution, sale, purchase, use, possession, transportation or importation of any controlled substance. More: What to know about bail in CT: When is it set, and who can be released with promise to appear As New London State's Attorney, Narducci serves as the chief law enforcement officer in the Judicial District of New London. His office is responsible for the prosecution of all criminal offenses that occur in the Judicial District, which includes the communities of Bozrah, Colchester, East Lyme, Franklin, Griswold, Groton, Lebanon, Lisbon, Ledyard, Lyme, North Stonington, Norwich, Old Lyme, Preston, Sprague, New London, Montville, Salem, Stonington, Voluntown and Waterford. Narducci oversees 28 employees in the Judicial District of New London. This figure includes 15 prosecutors, six investigators and seven clerical staff members. As of the middle of October 2024, there were approximately 8,780 cases pending and about 4,000 pending infractions in the New London Judicial District. Some of the big cases Narducci said Feb. 19 that his office was prosecuting included four or five pending murder cases, a number of pending sexual assault cases as well as narcotics trafficking cases. This article originally appeared on The Bulletin: What to know about manslaughter charges related to opioid overdose deaths
