Despite Media Claims, Hunter Has Never Really Faced Repercussions For His Drug Antics
Hunter has hardly endured any of the real-world repercussions the average American addict suffers when they use illicit drugs.Hunter has hardly endured any of the real-world repercussions the average American addict suffers when they use illicit drugs.‘Tranq’ Crisis Shows How Harm-Reduction Drug Policies Eat Americans Alive
The cultural pull not to stigmatize anything or anyone is misplaced, purchasing a momentary façade of autonomy at the cost of untold harm and suffering.California police union executive director ran international fentanyl operation, used office to distribute drugs: Feds
A California police union executive director used her office to distribute drugs, according to a federal criminal complaint.
Joanne Marian Segovia, 64, has been the executive director of the San Jose Police Officers' Association since 2003. On Wednesday, Segovia was charged with attempting to unlawfully import valeryl fentanyl from overseas. Segovia was allegedly exposed by a Homeland Security investigation into an illegal drug network operating in the San Francisco Bay area.
Segovia had been running an international fentanyl operation out of her home and her office, according to federal officials. Segovia was accused of using her personal and office computers to order thousands of illegal pills to distribute across the country.
The federal criminal complaint said Segovia sent a package to a woman in North Carolina and used the UPS account of the San Jose Police Officers’ Association to ship the controlled substances.
Between October 2015 and January 2023, Segovia had at least 61 shipments of drugs mailed to her home. The drugs were shipped from China, Hungary, India, and Singapore. The shipments of synthetic opioids were labeled with descriptions such as “Wedding Party Favors,” “Gift Makeup,” "Clock," or “Chocolate and Sweets.”
The Northern District of California U.S. Attorney's Office said in a press release, "But between July 2019 and January 2023, officials intercepted and opened five of these shipments and found that they contained thousands of pills of controlled substances, including the synthetic opioids Tramadol and Tapentadol. Certain parcels were valued at thousands of dollars’ worth of drugs."
Segovia allegedly utilized encrypted WhatsApp communications to purchase and coordinate the transportation of the illegal pills. The California police union executive director exchanged hundreds of WhatsApp messages with someone using a phone with a country code from India, according to federal officials. WhatsApp messages purportedly had photos of shipping labels and payment receipts.
On May 2, 2022, Segovia allegedly wrote, "I'm so sorry, I’m on a business trip because we had 2 officers that got shot! I should be home tomorrow night so ill get them shopped as soon as I can."
Despite being interviewed by federal investigators in February 2023, Segovia allegedly continued to run her international drug operation.
Federal agents seized a shipment of valeryl fentanyl from China that was addressed to Segovia on March 14, 2023, according to United States Attorney Ismail J. Ramsey and Homeland Security Investigations Special Agent in Charge Tatum King. Segovia allegedly blamed her housekeeper for the package of valeryl fentanyl.
San Jose Police Officers' Association president Sean Pritchard described Segovia as the "grandma of the POA."
"This is not the person we’ve known, the person who has worked with fallen officers’ families, organized fundraisers for officers’ kids — just not who we’ve known over a decade," Pritchard told KNTV.
Segovia faces a maximum sentence of 20 years in prison and a possible fine of as much as $250,000.
Segovia is scheduled to make her first court appearance on March 31.
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CA police union exec charged with attempt to import, sell valeryl fentanyl, officials say www.youtube.com
CVS and Walgreens to pay $10.7 billion for their roles in the deadly opioid crisis
Attorneys generals from several states around the country recently announced that CVS and Walgreens have agreed to a whopping $10.7 billion settlement for their roles in the opioid crisis.
CVS and Walgreens have agreed to pay a combined $10.7 billion to settle lawsuits brought against them. The lawsuit accuse the national pharmacy chains of not adequately facilitating opioid prescriptions.
NBC News reported, "CVS will pay $4.9 billion to states and political subdivisions and approximately $130 million to tribes. Walgreens will pay $4.95 billion, plus more than $750 million in fees for attorneys and costs."
CVS will make payments spread out over 10 years. Walgreens will pay the settlement across 15 years.
The settlement money will be distributed to states, local governments, and federally recognized tribes for opioid treatment, recovery, and abatement.
The settlement was negotiated by attorneys generals from California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Illinois, Indiana, Iowa, Kentucky, Louisiana, Massachusetts, Nebraska, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, and Texas.
Oregon Attorney General Ellen Rosenblum stated, "Pharmacies were a key link in the supply chain that contributed to the greatest drug-induced public health crisis in modern America. This may seem like a lot of money –and it is – but compared to the harm caused by America’s largest pharmacy chains, it barely scratches the surface."
Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul said, "The hundreds of millions of dollars coming to Wisconsin through agreements like these will have a major impact on efforts to curb substance-use disorder in communities across the state. Fighting the opioid epidemic is a top priority at the Wisconsin Department of Justice."
Tennessee Attorney General Jonathan Skrmetti reacted by saying, "The opioid crisis continues to plague Tennesseans and we will continue to pursue its contributors. While no amount of money will be enough to heal broken communities, we will send settlement money to the Opioids Abatement Trust Fund to assist in bringing the epidemic to a halt. This office will not let up on holding pharmaceutical companies accountable, and I commend our Consumer Protection team for their diligence."
New York Attorney General Letitia James added, "In New York and across the nation, communities continue to mourn family, friends and loved ones lost to the opioid crisis. Though we cannot reverse the devastation, my fellow attorneys general and I are committed to holding those who allowed this epidemic to run rampant through our country to account."
Neither pharmacy company admitted to any wrongdoing.
Walgreens issued a statement in November that read: "As one of the largest pharmacy chains in the nation, we remain committed to being a part of the solution, and this settlement framework will allow us to keep our focus on the health and wellbeing of our customers and patients, while making positive contributions to address the opioid crisis."
Last month, Walmart also settled for its role in the opioid crisis, but "strongly" disputed any wrongdoing. Walmart agreed to a $3.1 billion settlement.
In February, four pharmaceutical companies – Johnson & Johnson, AmerisourceBergen, Cardinal Health, and McKesson — agreed to pay $26 billion to settle lawsuits stemming from the deadly opioid addiction crisis.
"In total, corporations have had to pay $54 billion in settlements," according to NPR.
Between 1999-2020, over 564,000 people died from overdoses involving opioids, including prescription and illegal opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
The CDC reported opioids were involved in 68,630 overdose deaths in 2020 – 74.8% of all drug overdose deaths.
The CDC found, "Opioids were involved in more than 68,000 deaths in 2020, which was 8.5 times the number of opioid-involved overdose deaths in 1999."
County of San Diego will utilize naloxone vending machines in bid to prevent opioid overdose deaths
The County of San Diego plans to employ a dozen naloxone vending machines as a way to tackle the problem of drug overdoses.
Naloxone is used to save people's lives in the event of an opioid overdose.
"Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose," according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse. "It is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. But, naloxone has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system, and it is not a treatment for opioid use disorder."
A post by the county's communications office notes that "Registration and use will be anonymous and free of charge."
The machines will be available to adults who take an online training — after an individual finishes the training, they will get a pin to allow them to obtain naloxone from the machines.
The medication in the machines will come as a nasal spray, according to the San Diego Union-Tribune. The outlet reported that county spokesperson José Álvarez said that the course is meant to make certain that individuals know how to utilize the naloxone devices. Álvarez said that the intent is not that the vending machines would be utilized in the midst an overdose crisis — the goal is that individuals would get the naloxone so that they have it on hand prior to an overdose.
"Based on preliminary data, nearly 900 people died from accidental opioid overdoses in San Diego County in 2021. That’s a 55 percent increase compared to 2020," according to the post from the county's communications office.
"Naloxone is a proven life saver in overdose situations and San Diego County Behavioral Health Services and its partners are working hard to expand access," the county's chief population health officer Nicole Esposito said. "The enhanced distribution of naloxone into the hands of community members is vital in saving lives that might otherwise be lost to overdose."
\u201cThe County is readying a new tool to help fight the growing number of opioid overdoses in the region. https://t.co/yBlahIndKV\u201d— SanDiegoCounty (@SanDiegoCounty) 1659043848
Overdose rates up 700% in Oregon after the state decriminalized the possession of hard drugs
Overdose rates in the state of Oregon rose by 700% after voters in the state approved a ballot measure to decriminalize all hard drugs.
Voters in the state of Oregon voted to decriminalize all hard drugs in the pursuit of encouraging those struggling with drug addiction to seek medical help. The measure, referred to as Ballot Measure 110, was the first of its kind in the U.S. and went into effect in February of 2021 after being approved by the public the year before.
Ballot Measure 110 made it so that it was no longer a felony or misdemeanor of any kind to possess drugs in the state of Oregon. At most, people carrying hard drugs are subject to a maximum fine of $100 which can be waived if the person receiving the citation calls a public hotline and receives a free health assessment.
If a person is found to be carrying a “personal amount” of drugs like heroin, cocaine, or methamphetamine at most, they will receive a $100 fine.
Of the $300 million that was meant to be allocated to public health resources to fight addiction, only $40 million has been dispersed.
The Daily Mail reported that Ballot Measure 110 has largely had an inverse effect and has led not to more people seeking treatment but to more drug-related deaths and the proliferation of hard drug use throughout Oregonian communities.
Republican state official Lily Morgan said, “We have overdoses increasing at drastic rates.”
Morgan said, “In my community, [there has been] a 700% increase in overdoses and a 120% increase in deaths.”
Shemia Fagan, the Oregonian Secretary of State, said that Oregon residents approved Ballot Measure 110 to “improve the lives of people, to improve our communities.”
Fagan said, “When the voters of Oregon passed Measure 110, we did so because it was a change of policy in Oregon to improve the lives of people, to improve our communities, and in the years since, we haven’t seen that play out.”
She concluded, “Instead, in many communities in Oregon, we’ve seen the problem with drug addiction get worse.”
Steve Allen, Oregon’s behavioral health director, acknowledged that there has been a “dramatic” increase in overdoses and overdose deaths, but he attributed much of these to an influx of methamphetamine laced with fentanyl.
Allen indicated a belief that if public health resources received enough funding and support, then overdose deaths would decrease as the state’s drug problem begins to improve.
He said, “Getting these resources out to the community is incredibly important — not just the harm reduction resources, but people who can support folks who are at risk for overdose.”
Why isn't Hunter Biden corruption the BIGGEST STORY in America?
The Hunter Biden story isn't going away, try as corporate media might. Steven Crowder goes deep into Hunter's corruption and how it involves his entire family. Also, Florida liberals hate math. And don't you hate it when that one guy pulls out a guitar and starts singing? That and more on today's episode of "Louder with Crowder."
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To enjoy more of Steven’s uncensored late-night comedy that’s actually funny, join Mug Club — the only place for all of Crowder uncensored and on demand.
Authorities seize more than 2,000 lbs of fentanyl in New York
More than one ton of fentanyl was seized in the state of New York in 2021.
This, unsurprisingly, sets a new record for the amount of the synthetic opioid confiscated by law enforcement.
According to new data from the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA), 2,420 pounds of fentanyl in total were seized in New York, with 95 percent of the haul — around 2,300 pounds — coming from New York City, the New York Post reported.
This total represents a 206 percent increase over the previous record set in 2020 — 790 pounds.
Tim Foley, the acting special agent for the New York Division of the DEA, said, “Throughout my 30 years in law enforcement, I have never seen anything with greater killing power.”
Overdose deaths in New York City have been steadily rising each quarter since 2018, and they peaked in the first quarter of 2021 with 596 recorded overdoses.
More than 100,000 Americans died from overdosing on drugs throughout 2021, which indicates a 29 percent overall increase in just one year.
Fentanyl is increasingly found in New York City in what is described as a “ready-to-ingest” pill form that is “designed to look like legitimate OxyContin, Vicodin or Adderall, among other prescription drugs.”
In 2021, the DEA of New York seized 82,087 fentanyl pills. This is a fourfold increase from the 19,378 fentanyl pills seized in 2020.
The DEA believes that the chemicals required to make the synthetic opioid are being sourced from China, but the pills are being made in Mexico and trafficked into the United States by criminal networks based out of Mexico.
The DEA said, “Criminal drug networks in Mexico are mass-producing deadly fentanyl and fentanyl-laced fake prescription pills, using chemicals sourced largely from China.”
The Commission Combatting Synthetic Opioid Trafficking released a multi-agency federal report last month that referred to the constant influx of fentanyl as “a slow-motion weapon of mass destruction.’
The Commission’s report demanded that steps be taken to stop the flow of “precursors chemicals” used to make the drugs from China into Mexico.
The report said, “The expansion of [China’s] chemical and pharmaceutical sectors has outpaced the government’s efforts to regulate them, creating opportunities for unscrupulous vendors to export chemicals needed in [fentanyl’s] illegal manufacture.”
The Commission’s report blames the ongoing fentanyl crisis on the widespread addiction to prescription painkillers, it connects this crisis to the Food and Drug Administration approving OxyContin in 1995.
OxyContin was “falsely marketed as an easy, nonaddictive fix for pain” and drug overdoses in America have “steadily climbed” since the decision to approve it for distribution.”
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