Drugs

With so many variables — like whether an overdose occurs on campus or after school — there's no way to know if Hays CISD is a hot spot or if other districts are just tracking differently and aren’t aware of a problem.

Drug deaths were up 35% in Travis County last year, an increase spurred in large part by a growing number of fentanyl-related overdoses.

Over a dozen bills have been filed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers after Gov. Greg Abbott publicly supported lifting the ban.

Travis County saw a spike in the number of fatal overdoses last year. Frankie Rae works with a group pushing for “harm reduction.” But these strategies can be controversial, and in some cases, illegal.

A billboard shows the faces of young people who have died. Posters show the difference between fentanyl and other prescriptions drugs. And a video presented to seniors shows a student overdosing in his car.

Fentanyl is the leading cause of opioid deaths in the state, increasing five-fold in recent years.

Public health officials hope pharmacies will request the drug to have on their shelves. Austin and Travis County officials declared a public health crisis earlier this year after the county saw a record number of accidental overdoses in 2021.

Researchers will examine brain responses following treatment with psilocybin, a psychedelic derived from certain mushrooms, and 5-MeO-DMT, which comes from toad venom.

Abbott directed the Department of Public Safety to boost efforts to collect intelligence on cartels and investigate gangs in Texas that support drug and human smuggling.

The Drug Enforcement Administration is also joining the county's health department and other local law enforcement agencies as part of an overdose task force.