With armfuls of pamphlets, fentanyl test strips and naloxone, Morgan Jennings shows up around Wichita on a mission: trying to stop opioid overdoses. For Jennings, every opportunity to distribute naloxone, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, is a chance to honor the people in her life affected by substance use disorder. She lost her father […]
Fentanyl
Posted inHealth, Local Government
Wichita-area politicians pick between war on drugs or treatment when spending opioid settlement cash
Sedgwick County Sheriff Jeff Easter has strong opinions about how the county should spend the windfall it expects from legal settlements with opioid makers, distributors and retailers. “It has to be spent,” he said, “for recovery, rehab, that type of stuff.” Law enforcement, Easter said, should not be getting any of it. As local governments […]
Posted inHealth
Narcan saves lives — if you can find it in Kansas City
Takeaways: Casey Johnson stepped into the bathroom of a Westport bar recently and immediately sensed something was off. She saw two still legs and hair grazing the floor in a neighboring stall. Johnson knocked on the stall door. She yelled. But when Johnson got no response, she grabbed the naloxone she always carries, crawled under […]
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government
500 dead and counting from fentanyl as Wichita struggles to curb overdoses
Under Wichita’s towering landmark, the Keeper of the Plains, a group of grieving Wichitans gathered at dusk, lighting candles for loved ones lost to fentanyl. Among the dozens of mourners at the recent memorial were Mark and Val Sandoval, who lost their son just weeks before his high school graduation after he took a single […]
Posted inDIY Democracy, Elections, Local Government
Housing, fentanyl and worker shortages: Where do Wichita’s City Council candidates stand?
Last month, The Wichita Beacon surveyed our readers to find out what they most want to know about candidates running for local office. Questions for City Council candidates centered on four themes: homelessness; the city’s worker shortage in areas of policing, health care and education; fentanyl deaths; and diversity and inclusion. Only one district, District […]
Posted inState Government
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that […]
Posted inKansas State Government
Fentanyl test strips will finally be legal in Kansas. Here’s why that matters.
Kansans will soon be able to use fentanyl test strips without fear of being prosecuted after Gov. Laura Kelly signed Senate Bill 174 earlier this month, a measure that addiction experts hope will prevent deaths from accidental fentanyl poisoning. “By decriminalizing fentanyl testing strips, we are helping Kansans protect themselves from a deadly poison that […]
Posted inAccountability, Education, Health
A surge in fake pain pills is fueling a deadly epidemic among Wichita’s teens
What does youth fentanyl overdose look like? In Sedgwick County it often looks like parents finding their teenager dead in bed — or a toddler dead on the floor, fentanyl pills scattered next to him. That’s not supposed to happen. Parents expect kids at home to be safe, not at risk of the No. 1 […]
Posted inHealth
FDA has approved over-the-counter Narcan. What does that mean for Wichita?
Wichita harm-reduction activists are hopeful the Food and Drug Administration’s recent decision to sell Narcan, a brand of nasal spray naloxone, without a prescription over-the-counter will make the drug more accessible to people who need it – but when and how it might be available is not yet clear. The activists routinely distribute thousands of Narcan kits a year, and demand keeps rising.
Posted inHealth, Kansas State Government, Wichitans You Should Know
‘Storm of Addiction’ Part 2: Sober and ready to fight
This is the second part of a two-part series. Read the first part here: “How a Kansas woman emerged from the storm of addiction to fight fentanyl.” This story contains references to drug use, addiction and overdose. When Ashley Alexander found her fiance, Dustin Gotham, lying on the bathroom floor with a needle in his […]