Caseloads Created By The Opioid Crisis Taking A Toll On Coroners And Medical Examiners

Coroners and medical examiners do more than just rule on the cause and manner of death. They also photograph scenes, collect physical evidence with law enforcement, transport the bodies for autopsies, and notify the next of kin. With the increased workload due to the opioid crisis, some of these professionals and their budgets are being pushed to the edge…

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Minnesota Man Who Sold Fake Pills Made With Carfentanil Gets Probation

A man in Minnesota who purchased and distributed counterfeit oxycodone pills laced with carfentanil and cocaine received only a three year probation sentence. Joshua Ryan Chlan pled guilty to one count fourth-degree possession with intent to sell. The pills he sold caused three non-fatal overdoses in as many days…

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Raid In British Columbia, Canada Turns Up A Pill Press And Over 100 Different Pill Dyes

Counterfeit pills continue to be a problem in Canada. In Surrey, British Columbia, a raid in November turned up a drug manufacturing lab that contained a pill press and dyes for over 100 different pills. A high school both in that province and another in Ontario have also recently experienced issues of students overdosing from counterfeit Xanax pills…

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Fake Fentanyl Pills Sold By Social Media Influencer Contributed To Woman’s Death

Police arrested a social media influencer in southern California who allegedly sold the counterfeit oxycodone pills containing fentanyl that contributed to the July 2018 death of a woman in Ramona. Information led police to arrest Michael Steen and charge him with transportation of a controlled narcotic and possession of narcotics for sale…

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Clandestine Fentanyl Producing Lab Found In Mexico City

According to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration, China has been the primary source of illicit fentanyl for years. However, recent busts in Mexico show that the cartels no longer need to rely on China for fentanyl. They are able to synthesize the drug from its precursor chemicals themselves…

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Thousands of Fake Pills Purchased From China Shipped To Man In New York State

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a guilty plea from a Rochester, New York man who purchased thousands of counterfeit pills from China and had them shipped to his home. U.S. Customs and Border Protection seized one package on its way to Samuel McFarland in April 2017 that contained over 3,000 pills. In January 2018, a second package contained almost as many pills was found to be headed to his home…

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