Opinion

Fentanyl, also known as Actiq, Duragesic or Sublimaze in its prescription form, is a potent painkiller developed in the 1960s to treat extreme pain. Some strains of Fentanyl can be 50 times more potent than morphine.

The National Institute on Alcohol Abuse and Alcoholism identifies a subgroup of dependency known as a high functioning alcoholic or (HFA), which makes up about 32% of the alcoholic consumers the hallmark of an HFA is they can function with apparent normalcy in society while intoxicated. They are often skilled at maintaining a career, family, and social life in the face of being under the influence, giving an exterior look of stability. This permits the issue to go overlooked by others an gives the alcoholic a reason to justify the seriousness of their problem. The harsh reality is, even though the outward appearance looks stable, the person is failing in one or more of these areas and is forced to live in a constant battle against surrendering to the devastation drug and alcohol abuse inexorably bring.

Missouri’s House took an unusual step this year in an effort to bring more order to the legislative process. The House adopted a rule that limits a member next year from sponsoring more than 20 bills in a session, with a few exceptions such as the House Budget chair who sponsors all the governor’s budget bills.

Dear Toni: My brother recently had to move out of his house into as assisted living facility because he broke his hip and is unable to live on his own. The monthly cost of the facility is about $4500 per month and his adult children are having to help him financially.

All of the following bills have been passed in the House and now move to the Senate. Some will go through the Senate with no changes and move on the Governor’s desk. Some bills will be debated, amended, and then sent back to the House for consideration, while others will just die in the process. I don’t have space in my article to list all of the bills passed in the House over the last two weeks, but I have listed the ones I believe may be of the most interest to the 153rd District. For more detailed information on the following bills or other legislation being considered in the House of Representative, go to www.house.mo.gov HB 130 specifies that the region of southeast Missouri that includes the counties of Ripley, Shannon, Oregon, Wayne, Butler, Carter, St. Louis, Jefferson, Franklin, Crawford, Dent, Ste. Genevieve, Washington, St. Francois, Madison, Iron, Perry, Reynolds, Bollinger, Scott, Mississippi, Stoddard, New Madrid, Pemiscot, and Dunklin shall be designated the “Stars and Stripes Historic Region of Missouri”. Supporters say this lets visitors know where historic sites are and it will help tourism at no cost to the state.

Xylazine is a veterinary tranquilizer that is not approved for human use. It also goes by the names “tranq,” “tranq dope,” and “zombie drug.” Xylazine is becoming a issue because it is being “cut” or diluted with other chemicals in street drugs to increase profit. Xylazine is worrying because it causes dangerous wounds that spread and worsen quickly. These wounds can happen no matter how the drug is used. These wounds have been found in people that are snorting, injecting, or smoking, and it is critical to get medical attention because it is very difficult for these wounds to heal on their own. The wounds are painful, but even worse, if they go untreated, it can lead to amputation because of a scaly dead tissue called eschar. In Philadelphia, 90% of the dope samples they tested returned positive for having Xylazine. Xylazine is a non-opioid tranquilizer now linked to fentanyl overdose deaths. When someone is overdosing on Fentanyl, Naloxone is administered. When Xylazine plays a factor in the overdose, because it is a non-opioid tranquilizer the narcotic reversal does not impact Xylazine that depresses a persons breathing. This is causing Naloxone to become less effective and the number of overdoses to increase. Recently the FDA has restricted the import of Xylazine due to the increase in it being found in fentanyl and heroin. It is being realized that all manner of street drugs are being being laced with It for profit increase. The problem is that Xylazine’s prevalence in drugs is truly unknown because many hospitals don’t test for it.