(Statewwide) The Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs (DDAP) has announced that it has streamlined its licensing procedures for drug and alcohol treatment programs. The new procedures ensure increased drug and alcohol services for individuals in need of treatment throughout the Commonwealth...(Gant Daily)

(Luzerne) Synthetic drug overdoses and domestic violence are both epidemics in the Wyoming Valley and beyond...(Citizens Voice)

(Adams)...By the end of August, District Attorney Shawn Wagner hopes to equip at least three departments with naloxone, a medicine that reverses heroin and other opiate overdoses...(Evening Sun)

(Statewide) Earlier this week Drug and Alcohol Programs Secretary Gary Tennis published an op-ed calling on the Legislature to match Wolf's proposed funding levels for the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs. However, Secretary Tennis neglected to mention that by vetoing the entire budget his department will not have any money to address these problems in our community...(York Dispatch)

(Allegheny) Officers in six South Hills police departments now are armed with medicine geared to help save the lives of a growing number of overdose victims in the region...(TribLive)

(Beaver) Two local pharmacies have joined a standing order to begin dispensing naloxone to people who are at risk of an opioid-related overdose and those who may witness one...(Times Online)

(Dauphin) Dauphin County police departments could soon be carrying naloxone, which can revive someone who has overdosed on opioid drugs. Dauphin County commissioners Wednesday approved an agreement with South Central EMS for naloxone (Narcan) to be distributed...(PennLive)

(Southwest)...A dramatic increase in drug overdose fatalities and a change in state law has triggered efforts by local officials and health providers to put life-saving naloxone into the hands of municipal police officers and firefighters...(TribLive)

(Chester)...To combat this growing problem, the Chester County Overdose Prevention Task Force has been convened with the commitment to reduce deaths from overdoses in the County...(Chester County Health Department)

(Greene) When Cumberland Township officials affirmed to Greene County planners in late May that a proposal to build a drug treatment clinic in the community fit within the local zoning rules, county workers questioned why the municipality did not first hold a hearing...(Observer-Reporter)

(York) York County has not yet seen a significant drop in the number of people dying from heroin and heroin-related overdoses, despite coordinated efforts on multiple fronts by county officials, agencies and individuals...(York Dispatch)

(Statewide)...For these reasons, I hope the General Assembly will reconsider the budget proposal eliminating $6 million in Gov. Tom Wolf's proposed funding for the Departments of Human Services and Drug and Alcohol Programs to address this growing epidemic...(York Dispatch)(Daily Item) 

(Montgomery)...Montgomery County, with almost 800,000 inhabitants, is the 3rd largest population in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania. In 2014, the deaths of 161 citizens were reported by the Montgomery County Coroner due to overdoses of prescription and /or non-prescription drugs...(Times Herald)

(Statewide) Pennsylvania Board of Probation and Parole Acting Chairman John R. Tuttle today announced that all Board offices have been supplied with the life-saving opioid overdose reversal antidote Naloxone and all field supervision staff have been trained in the administration of this important anti-overdose drug...(PR Newswire)

(York)...In York County, there's a push to stop the overdoses. The county saw more than 60 overdose deaths last year, and the pace is about the same so far this year. Saturday, a group gathered to say enough is enough...(ABC 27)

(Greene) Greene County commissioners were approached last month by Steps Inside, a nonprofit organization, seeking money to help establish additional group homes under the Oxford House banner for recovering alcoholics and drug addicts in Greene County...(Observer-Reporter)

(Montour) Police charged a woman who overdosed on heroin in a Mill Street apartment with possessing two hypodermic needles and three glacine packets used to package heroin...(Daily Item)

(National)...But as the heroin epidemic surges across the country and claims more lives every day, a growing number of families are dropping the euphemisms and writing the gut-wrenching truth, producing obituaries that speak unflinchingly, with surprising candor and urgency, about the realities of addiction...(New York Times)

(Massachusetts) Gov. Charlie Baker will ask the Legislature to allocate another $27.8 million for substance abuse prevention and treatment in a supplemental budget that he plans to file today...(MassLive)

(Alabama) An online poll conducted by AL.com between June 30 and July 15 revealed that 83 percent of respondents believe that Alabama is in the throes of a major prescription pill abuse problem...(AL)

(New York) Seven people overdosed on a suspected fentanyl-heroin mixture in Buffalo in a little roughly six hours Thursday night, prompting police to warn that an especially lethal batch of the opiate is on the streets...(Buffalo News)

(Maryland)...However you want to describe it, Baltimore City Health Department's new anti-overdose campaign, with its cautionary yellow and black color scheme and DontDie.org website, is certainly different that anything the city has done before...(Baltimore Business Journal)

(National)..."It may be prudent to revise guidelines to also address opioid poisonings occurring at relatively low prescribed doses and with acute and intermittent opioid use, in addition to chronic, high-dose use,"...(News Medical)

(National) The National Safety Council ("NSC") has published a report entitled Prescription Pain Medications: A Fatal Cure for Injured Workers, urging employers to educate employees about the dangers of using opioid pain medications - such as addiction and death - while also taking steps to avoid potential liability in workers' compensation and personal injury litigation...(National Law Review)

(Florida) A wave of what was thought to be heroin-related overdoses - including Monday's death of a 44-year-old Cape Canaveral man - actually has been linked to a more powerful drug, fentanyl, in some cases..(Florida Today)

(National) Deaths from drug overdose have outpaced automobile accidents as the leading cause of injury in 35 states, including New York. But the state is making strides to curtail that trend. Physicians are integral to treating addiction, but the country has a shortage of doctors with training in the specialty...(WRVO)

(National) Identifying patients who might be more likely than others to overdose on opioids could save lives if pharmacies could agree on what to look for in addictive behaviors. The signs might be found in the data available to pharmacists across the country...(Forbes)

(Ohio) Every day more than 2,500 teens abuse prescription medication for the first time. However, the misuse of prescription medication is not just limited to teens. It's an ongoing issue with many, from teens to adults of all ages...(Logan Daily)

(Maryland)...And the problem isn't just limited to Baltimore City; nearly two-thirds of the 185 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in Maryland last year occurred in the counties. That's why a public information campaign announced by Baltimore officials this week to offer "lifesaving tips" to addicts warning of the dangers of heroin overdose could serve as a model for similar efforts across the state...(Baltimore Sun)

(Arizona) Just in the last three months, 'spice,' also known as 'synthetic marijuana' has been blamed for nearly 100 overdose calls in Tucson...(Tuscon News Now)

(National)...The lawmakers specifically are pressing for state governments to reach deals with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals, the maker of naloxone, a drug that reverses the depression of the central nervous system caused by heroin and other opioids...(The Hill)

(National)..."We need you to clean out your medicine cabinet; we need you to give us the stuff in your medicine cabinet that can hurt you or your loved ones," he said. "More to come but we're going to revive that program and we're going to do it in every state in the country."..(NPR)

(Missouri)...Naloxone, or Narcan as it's sometimes called, instantly reverses an overdose. And while the law has been in an effect for over a year, Missouri law enforcement agencies have not begun to use the drug...(KBIA)

(Maryland) To stem the growing heroin addiction rates and overdose deaths, a Baltimore task force plans to unveil a more than $20 million proposal Monday that includes around-the-clock treatment options...(Baltimore Sun)

(Florida) Agents from the Brevard County Sheriff's Office are investigating multiple drug use overdoses that were reported on Monday, June 13, 2015. Investigators say that the overdose cases appear to be related to heroin. Overall, eleven overdoses were reported in the Cape Canaveral and Merritt Island areas, with one death associated to date...(Brevard Times)

(Arizona)...I say  all of this in hopes of proposing yoga to treat various conditions in place of medications, such as my father's addiction and pain. We can use yoga to deal with some of the pain that arises, and there are many yoga and mindfulness tools that allow us to take control of our bodies and lives...(Medical Daily)

(Minnesota)...Shimek said he's tired of going to the funerals of young people. "I've been watching our people die prematurely since I was a little kid, starting with alcohol," he said. "Then we morphed into other substances. There was the first round of meth, then we went to prescription pills, then we went to heroine and meth combined."..(DL Online)

(Connecticut) Heroin deaths have increased dramatically across Connecticut over the past three years, with the drug playing a direct role in 306 fatalities last year, state medical examiner records reveal...(Hartford Courant)

(New Jersey)...Camden County residents interested in learning about the drug are invited to register for free training sessions coming up this July and August. Those who successfully complete the training will receive a free naloxone kit...(NJ)

(West Virginia) Drug overdoses happen on a daily basis in our region, but it's a topic that a lot of families don't feel comfortable talking about. On Saturday, families of those struggling with substance abuse came together in front of the West Virginia state capitol to ask for more help and programs for their loved ones...(WOWKTV)

(California) In a community center just south of Los Angeles, upwards of 50 people pack into a room to offer each other words of comfort. Most of them are moms, and they've been through a lot...(NPR)

(New Jersey) Driven by painkiller addiction, heroin use has spiked to epidemic levels across the country. Locally, burst of overdoses that have given Atlantic County a heroin-related death rate nearly seven times the national average...(Press of Atlantic City)

(New Hampshire) Today, a law was adopted that grants immunity from arrest or conviction for individuals seeking medical assistance for drug overdose victims...(Londonderry News)

(New York)...And then, for others, they are not bad people, just sick -- suffering from the disease of addiction and should seek the help they need to recover. While acknowledging the severity of the problem, some focused on solutions:..(SI Live)

(New Mexico) Heroin use and fatal overdoses are on the rise across the U.S...Meanwhile, in New Mexico, where drug overdoses have been a chronic problem, preliminary data indicate that after a two-year reprieve, overdose deaths spiked in 2014...(Santa Fe-New Mexican)