(Fayette) A town hall meeting next month - with the state secretary of drug and alcohol programs as a panelist - will put a name and face on Fayette County's addiction problem, State Rep. Tim Mahoney said...(TribLive)

(Wayne) By a four-to-two vote at its March 9 meeting, the Honesdale Borough Council voted to reject Wayne County District Attorney Janine Edwards' request that borough police be trained and equipped to administer an antidote for heroin overdose. Council members Dan Barnes and James Brennan cast the two votes against rejecting the proposal, Brennan saying that the subject deserves more study. Anita Pisano was absent due to illness...(River Reporter)

(Beaver) A drug designed to reverse the effects of a heroin overdose will soon be made available without a prescription at a New Brighton pharmacy...(WPXI)

(Montgomery)...The Montgomery County Overdose Task Force offered more than two dozen short- and long-term recommendations to help curb local drug-related overdoses. The task force, which is made up of substance abuse and medical professionals, educators, law enforcement and concerned citizens, was established in September...(Patch)

(Carbon) Naloxone, a drug proven to help emergency personnel save an opioid user's life after an overdose, has come to Carbon County. More than two dozen Carbon County emergency responders attended the Naloxone Administration for EMRs and EMTs training on Sunday evening at the Nesquehoning Hose Company social hall...(Times News)

(Montgomery)...According to the preliminary report presented to commissioners' Chairman Josh Shapiro and Vice-Chairwoman Valerie Arkoosh on Monday, there were 134 drug related deaths in 2013 in Montgomery County. More specifically the county saw 46 heroin deaths in 2013. Those numbers are up from 2009 information. In 2009, there were 83 drug related deaths and 20 heroin related deaths...(Times Herald)(Mainline)

(Statewide) As a drug overdose epidemic rages in Pennsylvania, a website developed by the University of Pittsburgh School of Pharmacy will help track in real time how counties compare in death rates...(TribLive)

(York) A York County commission designed to help those who can't afford help for drug or alcohol addiction has denied inpatient care to more than 20 people since the summer - the result of an increase in demand that's draining its budget...(Reading Eagle)

(Southeast) Overdose fatality rates in most of the Philadelphia region are well above the national average.  Pennsylvania was ranked No. 8 in 2013.  New Jersey's death rate was rising fast...(Philly)

(Southeast) Though the death rate from drug overdoses in Philadelphia has held relatively steady since the late 1990s, the Pennsylvania suburban counties and all of South Jersey have had sharp increases in body counts their rates have as much as tripled-putting many on a par with the city's rate, and in some cases surpassing it...(Philly)(Morning Call) 

(Allegheny) A neighbor said he heard the cries of a 9-month-old boy who authorities believe later starved after his mother died of a possible overdose inside their Pittsburgh-area apartment...(SI Live)

(York) Consumers can now buy a potentially life-saving drug, that can revive someone who is overdosing on heroin or other Opioids. But  people aren't buying it. Police can also carry it, but so far in York County they don't have it...(Fox 43)

(New York) Citing the gravity of the horrifying heroin and prescription-drug epidemic on Staten Island, Borough President James Oddo has called on the city Department of Education (DOE) to step up its own, little-known substance-abuse prevention efforts in the borough's 75 public schools, covering kindergarten classes through high schools with a total enrollment of about 75,000 students...(SI Live)

(National) The age-adjusted rate for drug overdose deaths involving heroin jumped from 0.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2000 to 2.7 deaths per 100,000 in 2013, according to a new CDC report, and most of the increase occurred after 2010...(OHS Online)

(National)...In his memory, his father Kim Ledger started a non-profit foundation, which aims at imparting knowledge to people regarding the catastrophes of prescription drug abuse. People may knowingly or unknowingly fall a victim of drug overdose, but doctors should keep a track of their patients and their activities...(Health Aim)

(Maryland) A man slouched back in his chair in the committee hearing room, showing state senators what it would be like if he were unconscious and dying from a heroin overdose. Leana Wen, health commissioner for the City of Baltimore, removed all brightly colored caps from a needle and demonstrated how easily the drug Naloxone could save his life...(Maryland Reporter)

(National) Following three overdose deaths in 48 hours in Lynn, US Senator Edward J. Markey introduced federal legislation Wednesday that would shield from lawsuits emergency workers and family members who administer a drug that reverses overdoses...(Boston Globe)

(Maryland) As part of efforts to combat the growing opiate and heroin epidemic plaguing the state, Charles County sheriff's deputies will begin training in the next month to respond to opiate overdoses and administer overdose-reversing medication, county Health Officer Dr. Dianna E. Abney told the county commissioners Tuesday...(SoMd News)

(Illinois) Legislation that would allow school nurses to administer a drug that could save students overdosing on heroin won preliminary approval from Illinois lawmakers Tuesday...(Daily Herald)

(West Virginia)...The governor signed Senate Bill 335 creating the Opioid Antagonists Act. It will allow medical professionals to prescribe the drug Naloxone to first responders and those at risk of experiencing an overdose along with their families and friends who could help them if they did overdose...(WV Metro News)

(Iowa)...Harm reduction measures are currently sitting in a subcommittee at our state Capitol, and they need our support. Overdose kills more Iowans each year than car accidents. It's time to enact simple public health measures to help save lives. H.F. 238 will do just that - implement simple first aid requirements to save Iowans...(Quad-City Times)

(Mississippi) A person possessing or under the influence of illicit drugs, but who helps ensure an individual suffering from a drug overdose gets medical help, wouldn't face any prosecution under a legislative measure...(Clarion-Ledger)

(Massachusetts) In an effort to reduce deaths and hospitalizations from opioid abuse, the New Bedford Health Department has received a grant of $550,000 from the Massachusetts Health Department to establish a regional coalition to tackle the issue...(South Coast Today)

(Massachusetts) Gov. Charlie Baker's Opioid Crisis Working Group is on listening tour, and plans to visit Greenfield Community College on March 19 for an "open dialog" with the public about drugs such as heroin and prescription painkillers...(MassLive)

(National)...There are a few theories for why this is happening. One is that addicts are moving from painkillers to heroin after a crackdown on prescription drug abuse. Another is that cultural shifts massively influence drug use...(Vox)