STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE STATE FUNDING FOR SCHOOLS and local aid could take a hit if voters approve a marijuana legalization ballot question in November, Lt. Gov. Karyn Polito said […]
Drugs
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Healey cuts deal with CVS on opioids
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CVS PHARMACY will require its staff to check the state’s prescription monitoring program database before filling certain abuse-associated opioid prescriptions under a newly announced settlement with […]
Posted inOpinion, Politics
Rivera to LePage: Your comments help no one
The following is a response from Lawrence Mayor Daniel Rivera to Maine Gov. Paul LePage’s comments about where the opioids causing problems in Maine are coming from. PAUL LEPAGE, the governor […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
LePage: Drugs in Maine come from Lowell, Lawrence
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE MAINE GOV. PAUL LEPAGE, a second-term Republican who has become a lightning rod in the debate over drugs and race, did not shy away Monday from […]
Posted inThe Back Story
‘Encampment’ moved off Boston Common
THE BOSTON POLICE DEPARTMENT last week evicted from the Boston Common a fairly large group of people who had been sleeping and hanging out for many weeks on the grass […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, State House News Service
Fentanyl fuels rise in opioid deaths
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE FENTANYL HELPED FUEL an increase in opioid-related overdose deaths in Massachusetts over the first six months of the year, according to state public health officials whose […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Criminal Justice, State House News Service
Pot supporters say ballot question about fairness
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE AS PROPONENTS GATHERED outside the State House Wednesday to urge support for marijuana legalization and condemn arguments against it as rooted in fear, opponents of a […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Opinion
Too many opioid prescriptions get written
CONGRESS HAS HELPED MASSACHUSETTS and the nation take another step forward in the battle against prescription drug abuse. The Comprehensive Recovery and Addiction Act (CARA), a bipartisan effort incorporating several […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Economy, Politics
Top pols say just vote no
THE STATE’S TOP elected officials from both sides of the aisle made a powerful political appeal to oppose the ballot question that would legalize the adult use and commercial sale […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
SJC hears appeals on marijuana ballot question
OPPONENTS OF THE BALLOT QUESTION to legalize marijuana argued before the state’s highest court Wednesday that the initiative should be shelved for a number of reasons, including the fact that […]
Posted inPolitics, State House News Service
Senate nixes med marijuana fees for vets
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE Veterans who qualify to access medical marijuana through the state’s dispensary program would no longer have to pay annual registration fees under a rider that the […]
Posted inBallot Questions, Politics
Medical pot dispensaries can cash in with ballot question
THE MEDICAL MARIJUANA INDUSTRY in Massachusetts, which has been struggling to get off the ground, could hit the jackpot if voters this fall approve a ballot question legalizing the commercial […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Opinion
Medical marijuana could ease opioid crisis
THE CAMPAIGN TO LEGALIZE MARIJUANA for recreational use in Massachusetts is dominating headlines and polls while drawing some strong opposition from important people. Boston Mayor Marty Walsh, Attorney General Maura […]
Posted inTransportation
AAA says marijuana OUI laws useless
THE RESEARCH ARM of AAA says states that set legal limits for marijuana driving impairment have no scientific basis for the standards and urged a national effort to adopt uniform […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, The Back Story
The gateway debate over marijuana
CHRIS LOWE, A 41-year-old carpenter on Martha’s Vineyard, has smoked pot since his early 20s, both legally and illegally. When he lived in Montana, he had a certificate to grow, sell, […]
Posted inThe Download
On weed, let’s stick to the facts
Facts are in short supply in the increasingly polarized debate over legalizing marijuana, which is why Jack Sullivan’s piece today in CommonWealth is refreshing. The article suggests the inability of […]
Posted inUncategorized
How high is too high?
WHEN PROHIBITION ENDED IN 1933, law enforcement officials found themselves in an awkward position. They knew driving drunk was a problem, but they didn’t know how to police it. How […]
Posted inDrug Addiction, Opinion
What you can do to ease the opioid crisis
BY NOW, EVERYONE has seen or heard about the HBO documentary Heroin: Cape Cod, USA, and most have been bombarded with seemingly daily headlines highlighting the newest statistics or the […]
Posted inHealth Care, State House News Service
DeLeo, Rosenberg raise opioid bill concerns
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE THE LEGISLATURE’S TOP TWO DEMOCRATS expressed reservations on Monday about one of the main provisions of Gov. Charlie Baker’s opioid abuse prevention plan that would allow […]
Posted inHealth Care, Opinion
DPH press release understates growth in opioid deaths
THE STATE’S OPIOID EPIDEMIC is worsening much faster than the Department of Public Health (DPH) said this week in a press release. Over the last two years, there has been […]
Posted inCriminal Justice, State House News Service
Baker unveils plan on opioid addiction
STATE HOUSE NEWS SERVICE CLEAR IN HIS AIM to reframe substance abuse as a public health crisis that can’t be solved by law enforcement alone, Gov. Charlie Baker on Monday […]