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Arkansas grapples with fentanyl crisis

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Arkansas grapples with fentanyl crisis


Ray Donovan, chief of operations of the Drug Enforcement Administration , stands in entrance of “The Faces of Fentanyl” wall, which shows pictures of People who died of a fentanyl overdose, on the DEA headquarters in Arlington, Virginia, on July 13, 2022. Photograph: Agnes BUN / AFP

Drug overdoses are surging in Northwest Arkansas — in keeping with a nationwide pattern tied to the rise of fentanyl.

Why it issues: Fentanyl overdoses are the No. 1 reason for demise in folks ages 18-49 nationwide, based on an evaluation by The Washington Submit. Two-thirds of overdose deaths in 2021 concerned the painkiller.

Zoom in: The variety of deadly drug overdoses in Benton and Washington counties almost doubled the previous three years — from 42 in 2020 to 74 in 2022, based on information from the county coroners.

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  • Overdose deaths involving fentanyl greater than quadrupled in Washington County, from 4 in 2020 to 17 in 2022. The drug was a consider about half the county’s deadly overdoses final yr.

Between the traces: NWA emergency responders are more and more utilizing naloxone to reverse overdoses. The Rogers Fireplace Division administered the antidote 136 occasions in 2022, in comparison with 96 two years earlier, metropolis Emergency Medical Providers Program Supervisor Nick Mason instructed Axios.

Flashback: In 2021, the Arkansas State Crime Lab carried out autopsies on 496 drug overdose deaths, in comparison with 207 in 2016. About 59% of the 2021 deaths concerned fentanyl — up from 4% in 2016, based on a lately filed invoice.

The massive image: The sheer quantity of fentanyl displaying up within the U.S., mixed with an absence of complete, real-time overdose information, has overwhelmed the U.S. authorities.

  • John Walters, who served as drug czar in the course of the Clinton and George W. Bush administrations, instructed The Washington Submit it is “like monitoring the epidemic by visiting cemeteries.”
  • Within the meantime, officers have resorted to consciousness campaigns speaking in regards to the drug’s efficiency and responders’ elevated use of naloxone.
  • Fentanyl is an artificial drug that is 50 occasions stronger than heroin and is usually laced in different medication.
How legislators are addressing the difficulty

The Arkansas legislative session is in full swing. Listed below are the fentanyl-related measures proposed to this point:

SB283 and HB1456 would make delivering fentanyl “demise by supply” if an individual dies from taking the drug, carrying a minimal sentence of 20 years and a most of 60 years.

  • Arkansas Gov. Sarah Huckabee Sanders and Lawyer Common Tim Griffin introduced the invoice in mid-February.
  • Sanders appointed Tom Fisher, a former overdose response technique analyst for the Gulf Coast Excessive Depth Drug Trafficking Space, which covers Arkansas, Alabama, Louisiana and Mississippi, because the state’s new “drug czar.”
  • The state Home Judiciary Committee will hear the invoice at 10am Thursday.

SB40 would legalize fentanyl take a look at strips. State Sen. Justin Boyd (R-Fort Smith), the invoice’s sponsor, instructed Axios that Arkansas prosecutors are already selecting to not convey motion towards folks for possessing the strips — thought of drug paraphernalia below present state regulation. The strips might stop overdoses as a result of folks might know whether or not one other substance comprises fentanyl.

  • The measure is deferred, with the expectation it is going to be included in an upcoming public security invoice, Boyd stated.



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Arkansas

Jana Duggar marries Stephen Wissmann in Arkansas wedding

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Jana Duggar marries Stephen Wissmann in Arkansas wedding


Jana Duggar is a wife!

The 34-year-old tied the knot with Stephen Wissmann in Prairie Grove, Ark., on Thursday, People reports.

The couple said “I do” in front of 500 guests during a “classic, elegant” ceremony at The Grand at Willow Springs, per the outlet.

Jana’s father, Jim Bob Duggar, walked her down the aisle to the song “Holy, Holy, Holy.”

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The bride’s sisters were also involved in the nuptials, with Jessa Duggar Seewald serving as the maid of honor. Joy-Anna Forsyth, Johannah Duggar, Jinger Duggar Vuolo and Jordyn Duggar were bridesmaids along with Jana’s sister-in-law Abbie Duggar.

Jana Duggar is married. Instagram/@janamduggar
She and Stephen Wissmann tied the knot in Arkansas on Thursday, People reports. Instagram/@stephenwissmann

The wedding news comes after the US Sun reported that the newlyweds obtained their marriage license in their home state of Arkansas on Wednesday.

Duggar and Wissmann, who got engaged in June, first sparked romance rumors after they were spotted together in December 2020. However, they have kept their romance off of social media and never publicly addressed their relationship status.

People reports the two first met years ago through their families. The “19 Kids and Counting” star’s brother Jeremiah Duggar is married to Wissmann’s sister Hannah.

Like Jana, Wissmann also comes from a large, religious family with 13 children. According to his Instagram, he owns a business and is a private pilot.

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Wissmann, pictured here with his sister, and Duggar sparked dating rumors in late 2020. Instagram/@stephenwissmann
However, the pair never publicly confirmed their romance. Instagram/@janamduggar

Jana sparked engagement rumors last month after posting a series of photos with a diamond ring on that finger.

In the pictures, the soon-to-be bride posed with her brother John and his wife, Abbie. Although she hid her left hand in two of the pictures, eagle-eyed fans still noticed the sparkler in one of the pictures.

Jana is the eldest daughter of Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar and was often called “Cinderella Duggar” for not prioritizing marriage like a lot of her siblings, who mostly wed in their early 20s.

However, in July 2020, the TLC star told Us Weekly she was “not that worried” about finding “The One.”

“Yes, I long to be married and one day I think that will come, but I think … I’m just also just trying to stay busy with whatever comes along my path,” she told the outlet.

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The TLC star, pictured with her brother John, sparked engagement rumors last month. Instagram/@janamduggar
The pair said “I do” in front of 500 guests. Instagram/@janamduggar

Despite feeling “a little more pressure” to find a husband, Jana said she wanted to make “the most” of her single years. 

“I think if I sit there and I’m like, ‘Oh no, I’m not married’ and just [get] all worried about it, it makes things way worse,” she shared.

Jana explained that she didn’t want to settle and hoped to find a love as strong as her parents, who wed in 1984.

“The genuine love that they still have for one another … this young love and they still have that, you know, today. I think that’s rare to see couples that are their age and been married that long.”

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Arkansas teen with cancer goes viral over reaction to gift

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Arkansas teen with cancer goes viral over reaction to gift


HEBER SPRINGS, Ark. (KAIT/KARK) – An Arkansas teen with cancer has gone viral after her reaction to receiving a thoughtful gift was posted online.

Content partner station KARK reported a TikTok of 13-year-old Kaylee Walker receiving a gift over 5.8 million views.

Walker said when her hair fell out due to her cancer treatment she felt insecure about going back to school.

Her reaction was caught on camera and viewers donated to get Walker another wig.

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You can read more about the reaction to this story, you can visit KARK’s website.

To report a typo or correction, please click here.





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Bomb threat temporarily closes Arkansas State Capitol | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette

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Bomb threat temporarily closes Arkansas State Capitol | Northwest Arkansas Democrat-Gazette


The Arkansas State Capitol was evacuated around 7 a.m. Thursday morning after an employee in the state Capitol received an email about a bomb threat that was sent to multiple state Capitols, a spokesman for the secretary of state said.

Arkansas Capitol Police officers “took precautionary measures, evacuated the building, made sure the building was all clear [and] reopened the building,” said Chris Powell, a spokesman for Secretary of State John Thurston.

“There is no ongoing threat that we are aware of,” Powell said. “It is a hoax.”

Powell said there was a similar incident in January in which multiple state Capitols received similar bomb threats.

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