Free Republic

It's a common sight on the streets of downtown Portland, Oregon: people in front of stores, trendy restaurants and hotels, on sidewalks, corners, and benches, crouched over torch lighters held up to sheets of tinfoil or meth pipes. Some drape blankets over their heads, or duck behind concrete barriers. Others don’t try to hide. "All summer long, we were right out in the open. You didn't have to be paranoid anymore, you didn't have to be worried about the cops," said John Hood, a 61-year-old drug addict living on the streets of Oregon’s most populous city. Hood spoke to Reuters...

An alleged double murderer poisoned a married couple with the opioid fentanyl and rewrote their will, a court heard. Luke D’Wit, 34, befriended and worked for millionaires Stephen and Carol Baxter, who he claimed treated him like an “adopted son”, jurors were told. The couple were found unresponsive and slumped in chairs in the conservatory of their home in West Mersea, Essex, on Easter Sunday by their daughter.

A decade ago, most people thought of Tylenol (acetaminophen) as a medicine for fever, malaise and minor aches and pains. Nobody imagined that it would become the go-to drug for treating moderate, let alone severe, postoperative pain. But this is just what has happened. Thanks to pressure from lawmakers, government agencies and policymakers who inserted themselves into the patient-doctor relationship, patients became the victims of the never-ending war on drugs. Now, doctors frequently offer only acetaminophen to treat painful conditions despite the drug’s inability to remedy them. Policymakers’ exaggerated fear of opioids has pressured hospitals, doctors and dentists to switch...

At his new restaurant, Hickory at Nicewonder Farm and Vineyards, chef Travis Milton celebrates the people and produce that make Appalachian food so special — but he had to learn to take care of himself first.Travis Milton didn't set out to be an evangelist for Appalachian cuisine, and he seems borderline surprised that he's ended up making a name for himself as a chef. But if you get to chatting with him for just a minute or two, it makes all the sense in the world. After earning his degree in education, the Castlewood, Virginia-born Milton was barely making ends...

US Capitol was put on lockdown as a man in truck told police he had a bomb The man parked his truck outside of the Library of Congress' Jefferson Building A Facebook live stream appeared to show the man making an anti-government rant and telling Joe Biden 'The South is coming for you' and 'The Revolution is on' He told the camera: 'This is Tannerite. I'm sure they know what it is' In the live stream put on Facebook, the man says: 'I told my wife I’d be home by Sunday, and I’m looking for all my other patriots to...

Complaint Alleges Company Unlawfully Dispensed and Distributed Prescription OpioidsIn a civil complaint filed today, the Department of Justice has alleged that Walmart Inc. unlawfully dispensed controlled substances from pharmacies it operated across the country and unlawfully distributed controlled substances to those pharmacies throughout the height of the prescription opioid crisis. The complaint alleges that this unlawful conduct resulted in hundreds of thousands of violations of the Controlled Substances Act (CSA). The Justice Department seeks civil penalties, which could total in the billions of dollars, and injunctive relief.“It has been a priority of this administration to hold accountable those responsible for...

Officials with the St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office in southwest Louisiana issued the warning last week after making arrests in connection to the new drug. It's called gray death and is a lethal combination of "some of the most deadly opioids including heroin, fentanyl and various fentanyl analogues," officials said on Facebook. According to the Sheriff's Office, the new super drug began to surface in the South, first in Alabama and Georgia. Investigators said a "minuscule amount of this drug" can kill. Sheriff's Office investigators released photos of what gray death looks like after suspects were taken into custody with...

Johnson & Johnson reaches tentative $20.4 million settlement in massive opioid case Health-care giant Johnson & Johnson announced Tuesday that it has reached a $20.4 settlement in principle with two Ohio counties on the eve of a massive federal trial to determine who is responsible for the nation’s opioid epidemic. Under the proposed settlement, Johnson & Johnson would pay Cuyahoga and Summit counties $10 million in cash, reimburse $5 million in legal fees and direct $5.4 million to nonprofits for opioid-related programs in those communities. “The settlement allows the company to avoid the resource demands and uncertainty of a trial...

Law enforcement officers in Virginia have seized enough fentanyl to kill 14 million people, busting a massive three-state drug ring as part of what they called "Operation Cookout." Thirty-five suspects were arrested, and four others are on the run. "This opioid crisis is not an issue that is happening someplace else, or to someone else. It's happening right here in Norfolk," said G. Zachary Terwilliger, U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia. In total, authorities seized over 30 kilograms of fentanyl, 30 kilograms of heroin, five kilograms of cocaine and over $700,000. It's the largest drug takedown in Virginia...

Chinese state media has hit back at US President Donald Trump’s accusation that China had failed to stop the sale of painkiller fentanyl to America, saying Beijing had done its part and the US “only has itself to blame” for the opioid crisis. In a commentary on Sunday, state news agency Xinhua rejected Trump’s claim in a tweet last week, calling it “blatant slander”. “China has made unprecedented efforts in addressing the fentanyl issue, in terms of issuing laws and regulations, conducting an overall market inspection and stepping up police investigations,” the commentary read. “Chinese law enforcement has uncovered cases...

Mac Miller was a rap artist of some notoriety In 2010, he signed a record deal with Pittsburgh-based indie record label Rostrum Records. He subsequently began recording his debut studio album Blue Slide Park, and released it on November 8, 2011. The album went on to debut at number one on the U.S. Billboard 200 chart, making it the first independently distributed debut album to top the chart since Tha Dogg Pound's 1995 album, Dogg Food. In early 2013, Miller launched REMember Music, his own record label imprint, named after a friend who died. Miller's second album, Watching Movies with the Sound Off, was released on June 18,...

An accused fentanyl dealer awaiting arraignment on felony drug charges at the federal courthouse in Pittsburgh hanged himself in a holding cell, rather than face justice on drug charges. According to TribLive.com, the drug defendant, Gregory Japalucci, 38, of Westmoreland County, Pa., died Saturday at a local hospital following the hanging on Wednesday. U.S. Marshals Service has offered few details about the incident, which took place in a federal courthouse holding cell while Japalucci was awaiting his appearance in court. Background from TribLive.com: A federal grand jury indicted Japalucci in June on felony charges of delivery and possession with intent...

This DRUG is being used OFF LABEL and KILLS, fueling the FAKE Opioid Crisis. PIG PHARMA pushed. It's called Subsys and it's a painkiller 100 times more powerful than morphine that was approved by the FDA for cancer patients whose agony can't be relieved by other narcotics alone.

Maybe you’ve never heard of kratom — a plant from Southeast Asia with large, green leaves that are dried, powdered and taken as a drug with mild, opioid-like effects. Kratom has been used in Asia for generations — usually chewed or brewed into a tea — as a tonic, painkiller and an aid for people weaning themselves off opium. It can be bought in powder or capsule form at smoke shops across the country. But dedicated kratom users might want to stock up. As soon as Friday, the federal Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) says it will classify kratom as a...