fentanyl

The Food and Drug Administration is issuing a warning about the dangers of online pharmacies in Alabama and other states. The FDA reports the outlets claim to sell medications at a discount, often without requiring a prescription. The pills being distributed could be unapproved, counterfeit or otherwise unsafe medicines.

Alabama is reporting the seizure of more than 48,800 grams of illicit drugs through an enforcement initiative to cut down on narcotics in the state. Gov. Kay Ivey's Office reports approximately 1,700 grams of fentanyl were rounded up under Operation Free.

Alabama healthcare providers are spreading the word on the dangers of a controlled substance they say doesn’t get as much attention. They’re referring to an anesthetic known as Ketamine.

A specially formed Montgomery crime unit is providing an update on the team’s progress and overall impact on crime in and around the Capital City. This includes more than 1,000 traffic stops and over 100 arrests.

The U.S. Department of Justice says a Minnesota man pleaded guilty this week to distributing Fentanyl that resulted in the death of an Alabama man. Prosecutors say Christopher Bass used the U.S. Postal Service to mail the drugs to Dr. Louis Burgio of Tuscaloosa in 2022, and that the Fentanyl was counterfeit Oxycontin. Burgio was later found dead.

The synthetic drug Fentanyl is now the leading cause of death for Americans between the ages of eighteen and forty five. The number of Alabamians who overdosed on the opioid in the year 2021 was fourteen hundred.

The state of Nevada may follow the lead of Alabama lawmakers when it comes to the possession of the drug Fentanyl. A Senate committee in the so called “silver state” heard two bills this week that could reduce the among of the drug needed to be eligible for a charge of drug trafficking

Alabama lawmakers have approved harsher penalties for trafficking fentanyl, with punishments of up to life imprisonment, as lawmakers try to respond to the deadly overdose crisis. Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey signed the legislation into law Thursday afternoon.

“Odds Are Alabama” will not only heighten awareness of the dangers of illicit drugs, but it will also provide critical information regarding help for those with substance use disorders, along with information about medication that can reverse an overdose and strips to test drugs for Fentanyl.

Governor Kay Ivey has tasked the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency with combatting dangerous opioids such as fentanyl, through the state's Drug Task Force.