Category Archives: News

Travis County Chief Medical Examiner Keith Pinck­ard shared data showing that overdoses have been steadily rising the last three years, with a 38% increase in accidental deaths from 2019 to 2020, and another 20% increase in 2021. From 2020 to 2021, fentanyl deaths tripled, even as deaths from other drugs, … Continue to full story .......

The University of Texas said it is now providing a potentially life-saving medication used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose for free to everyone on campus. In addition to being available for emergency access in all on-campus residence halls, Narcan, or naloxone, is now available for free to … Continue to full story .......

Heidi Abraham, the deputy medical director at Austin-Travis County EMS, said they’re seeing roughly 30 opiate overdoses every day right now. She also noted that roughly 20 times a month people are getting Narcan administered to them before EMS arrives.

Narcan is a brand name for naloxone and is … Continue to full story .......

A study published by the scientific journal Addiction has found that prevalence of e-cigarette use in England among young adults between 2007 and 2018 did not appear to be associated with substantial increases or decreases in the prevalence of smoking uptake. Several longitudinal observational studies have previously pointed towards a … Continue to full story .......

Feb. 2022 (KXAN) — A Cedar Park mother whose son died from a pill laced with fentanyl organized an event Monday night to answer other parents’ questions about the deadly drug.   Becky Stewart started “A Change for Cam,” named after her son, after he died in March 2021. The goal … Continue to full story .......

Cannabis can impair a person’s ability to drive up to 4 hours after the drug is used, according to a recent study.  “Although performance was improving at 3.5 hours, recovery was not fully seen until 4.5 hours post smoking’” researchers stated in the report published in the JAMA Psychiatry.… Continue to full story .......

Austin American-Statesman — When Becky Stewart hadn’t heard from her 19-year-old son in several hours, she decided to check on him at his Leander apartment.  But when she got there on March 20, Cameron Stewart wouldn’t answer the door.  Officers found him dead inside and later said he had died … Continue to full story .......

Austin Monthly – Deaths went up in Travis County, too, which ranked fourth among Texas counties for accidental opioid fatalities in 2019. A report from the Texas Harm Reduction Alliance revealed 262 people died of a drug overdose in Travis County the following year, a 36 percent increase. That December, … Continue to full story .......