Fentanyl

PORTLAND, Ore. — On a bleak block of Portland’s historic Chinatown, where dozens of people experiencing homelessness have pitched tents draped with plastic tarps, evidence of drug use litters the sidewalk. Among discarded cigarette butts lie squares of tin-foil, indented in the middle, with distinctive scorch marks, used to smoke substances like meth and fentanyl. Visible a few blocks away, a new Four Seasons hotel rises, angular and gleaming, on the skyline. On the sidewalk here, the city has installed a stubby green…

The Department of Homeland Security is recruiting dozens of artificial intelligence experts for an "AI Corps" that will use the blossoming tech to advance national security goals, Secretary Alejandro Mayorkas announced Tuesday.The 50 experts will be part of a DHS initiative to leverage AI for a variety of efforts, including combating fentanyl distribution, online child exploitation and cyberattacks, according to Mayorkas. He announced the AI Corps alongside DHS Chief Information Officer Eric Hysen at a Mountain View,…

Scientists have developed a handheld sensor for rapid and accurate detection of fentanyl in urine, showing potential for future saliva testing. This innovative device, which can detect trace amounts of fentanyl with 98% accuracy, offers a quick, portable solution for combating the opioid crisis by facilitating immediate result sharing with connected devices.The first-of-its-kind electrochemical test can identify trace quantities with a 98% accuracy rate.Researchers at the University of Texas at Dallas have created a…

Take it from Jelly Roll, the former drug dealer turned country music star: “Fentanyl is gonna make the Sackler family look like saints.” The “Son of a Sinner” and “Need a Favor” singer appeared before Congress on Thursday and delivered an impassioned five-minute statement urging lawmakers to pass an anti-fentanyl trafficking bill. Jelly Roll — real name Jason DeFord — addressed the Senate Committee on Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs, channeling his own experience with addiction and reciting chilling statistics about…

Breakout country star Jelly Roll appeared on Capitol Hill on Thursday to lobby lawmakers to pass legislation to stop the spread of fentanyl. “Forgive me, I’m a little nervous, I’m used to having a rock & roll band behind me when I have a microphone in front of me,” Jelly Roll told the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee hearing aimed at getting the FEND Off Fentanyl Act passed. “During the time I’ve been given to share my testimony here, I think it’s important to note before I start that in…

A lawsuit blaming Snapchat for a series of drug overdoses among young people can proceed, a Los Angeles judge ruled this week. A group of family members related to children and teens who overdosed on fentanyl sued Snapchat maker Snap last year, accusing the social media company of facilitating illicit drug deals involving fentanyl, a synthetic opioid many times deadlier than heroin. Fentanyl, which is cheap to produce and often sold disguised as other substances, can prove lethal in quantities as small as a 2…

PUERTO VALLARTA, Mexico —  The tag on her white lab coat read “professional pharmacist,” and the framed health and safety certificates lining the walls behind her gave the drugstore an air of legitimacy.That pretense faded seconds later, when she was asked for controlled medications — and got on her hands and knees to pop open a hidden panel under the counter. She rooted around for a minute and emerged with two sealed bottles.“These are from licensed laboratories,” she said. “The problem is when you’re buying from a…

Law enforcement is always looking at ways to make sure drugs aren't coming into the country and into your neighborhood. Agencies are now turning to artificial intelligence to help keep us safe, especially on the southern border. That's where Border Patrol agents found nearly 99% of the fentanyl smuggled into the United States.CLICK TO GET KURT’S FREE CYBERGUY NEWSLETTER WITH SECURITY ALERTS, QUICK VIDEO TIPS, TECH REVIEWS, AND EASY HOW-TO’S TO MAKE YOU SMARTER Representation of data being disseminated (Kurt "CyberGuy"…

November 15, 20234 min readMost hospitals typically test people for drugs that drove overdoses 15 to 20 years ago. We need a national system for expanded testing to help patients get the treatment they need todayBy Eric D. Wish, Amy Billing & Erin Artigiani Hospitals link people to treatment in their time of greatest need. That includes drug overdoses, which now kill more than 100,000 people in the U.S. every year.However, the standard hospital urine drug tests often do not detect fentanyl, which today is the leading…

Internet drug sales have skyrocketed in recent years, allowing powerful narcotics to reach American teenagers and adolescents via shady online marketplaces. It’s a trend that’s led to an epidemic of overdoses and left countlessyoung people dead. Now, a bill scheduled for a congressional vote seeks to tackle the problem, but it comes with a major catch. Critics worry that the legislative effort to crack down on the drug trade could convert large parts of the internet into a federal spying apparatus.Should Facial…