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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.
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Drug deaths were up 35% in Travis County last year, an increase spurred in large part by a growing number of fentanyl-related overdoses.
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Over a dozen bills have been filed by Republican and Democratic lawmakers after Gov. Greg Abbott publicly supported lifting the ban.
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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.
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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.
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Fentanyl is the leading cause of opioid deaths in the state, increasing five-fold in recent years.
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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.
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Researchers will examine brain responses following treatment with psilocybin, a psychedelic derived from certain mushrooms, and 5-MeO-DMT, which comes from toad venom.
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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.
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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.