(Schuylkill) State and local leaders say too many people are dying from the heroin epidemic. One political candidate is proposing a Heroin Strike Force, if he's elected State Attorney General...(WBRE)

(Statewide) A drug central to the push to reduce Pennsylvania's soaring opioid overdose death rate isn't on the shelves of many pharmacies, and numerous drug stores Tuesday showed confusion about a state order meant to put naloxone in the hands of any resident who could witness an overdose...(Philly)

(Statewide)...Gov. Tom Wolf and legislators celebrated one of those unique occasions at a press conference at the Capitol on Monday, where they recognized law enforcement officers for reaching a milestone in opioid overdose reversals...(PennLive)

(Adams)...And so, more than 10 experts, spanning a variety of expertise, were invited to speak at the force's very first panel discussion Thursday at the Harrisburg Area Community College campus in Cumberland Township...(Evening Sun)

(Greene) Greene County's Community Recovery Committee is starting a new initiative with the hopes of providing drug and alcohol free activities to area teens...(Observer-Reporter)

(Allegheny) U.S. Attorney David Hickton held a news conference in February to discuss a rash of heroin overdoses and the creation of an FBI-run office in Cranberry where law officers gather intelligence on heroin abuse across 13 counties...(Post-Gazette)

(Wyoming) The discussions comes at the same time that a rally is being planned in Wyoming County to raise awareness on the issue this August. Lizz DeWolfe is the woman behind the rally. DeWolfe lost her son last year after he died of a heroin overdose while at a treatment center in Florida...(WNEP)

(National) Close to half a million people died from an opioid overdose between 2009 and 2014, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...Various states have also started their own efforts and legislation to curb opioid abuse as well, and they're seeing positive results...(Deseret News)

(National) Accidental overdoses aren't the only deadly risk from using powerful prescription painkillers - the drugs may also contribute to heart-related deaths and other fatalities, new research suggests...(Claims Journal)

(National) U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy on Tuesday called for more government investment in addressing the nation's opioid epidemic, saying only half of the 2 million people who need treatment for addictions have access to it...(Fox News)

(Georgia)..."We're trying to get all of the 29 different police forces at the university level to be equipped and carrying Naloxone in case of an opioid overdose," said Sharp...(11 Alive)

(National) Today, as Congress continues to consider legislation related to the prescription opioid and heroin epidemic, the White House released the estimated amount of funding each State could qualify for under the new cooperative agreements proposed in the President's Budget to expand access to opioid treatment, particularly medication-assisted treatment...(White House)

(National) The opioid epidemic in the United States has had devastating consequences. Perhaps the silver lining is now being seen in organ donations...(Daily Rx News)

(California) A California Assembly committee approved a bill today to begin reversing the opioid overdose epidemic and save lives. More people are lost in California to drug overdoses than any other state, and many of those family members testified to their loss today...(PR Newswire)

(Kentucky) Growing abuse of the powerful painkiller fentanyl drove the number of overdose deaths in Kentucky to a new record high in 2015, according to a report released Tuesday...(Herald Leader)

(California)...California hospitals treat roughly one patient every 45 minutes who has overdosed on heroin or prescription painkillers such as OxyContin, Vicodin and Percocet. In 2014, our 4,395 overdose deaths were the most of any state in the country...(Sacramento Bee)

(Ohio) A person who calls 911 to save a friend who is overdosing won't be arrested or punished for minor drug offenses under a new Ohio law...(Cleveland)

(New Jersey)...Physicians from across Hudson County and the state gathered at CarePoint Health's Hoboken University Medical Center yesterday to discuss what medical professionals can do to curtail this epidemic...(Jersey Journal)

(National)...The Drug Enforcement Administration this week rolled out a new public service announcement directed at law enforcement to raise awareness of the danger officers face when they encounter the synthetic opioid in the field...(Washington Times)

(New York) A new report from New York State found suggests heroin use in the state is exceeding national averages and that its death rate from opioid abuse is outpacing that of other states...(Fox News)

(New Jersey) Two hundred people have been brought back from the brink of death by the men and women in the Camden County Metro Police Department using the overdose reversal drug naloxone, the department announced this week...(NBC 10)

(Canada) A drug that stops overdoses has saved lives, 116 times in Hamilton in the last two years. Now local public health officials are looking at how to spread that program even farther...(CBC)