Stories tagged with: opioids

• Autopsy reveals cause of death for TobyMac's son

  by Tess Schoonhoven, posted Thursday, January 23, 2020 (3 years ago)

  

  Photo from Instagram

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- The death of Truett Foster McKeehan, 21, son of Christian rapper TobyMac, was caused by an accidental overdose of fentanyl and amphetamines. The cause was listed on a report from the Davidson County (Tenn.) medical examiner, according to the Tennessean newspaper.

  McKeehan's death was sudden. Emergency crews found him dead on arrival to his home after a call was made regarding a person in cardiac arrest. Read More

• Half of pastors see opioid abuse in their own congregations

  by Aaron Earls, posted Wednesday, November 20, 2019 (3 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NASHVILLE, Tenn. -- Like most U.S. pastors, Robby Gallaty knows someone who has been affected by opioid abuse. But unlike most pastors, Gallaty has personally suffered through addiction.

  Twenty years ago this month, Gallaty endured a near-fatal car accident. When he left the hospital, the club-bouncer-turned-church-leader took with him several prescriptions for painkillers. Read More

• Applause greets $572 million penalty on opioids

  by Tom Strode, posted Tuesday, August 27, 2019 (4 years ago)

  

  iStock

  NORMAN, Okla. (BP) -- An Oklahoma judge's $572 million verdict Monday (Aug. 26) against the pharmaceutical manufacturer Johnson & Johnson for its role in the state's opioid crisis gained endorsements from federal and state government leaders.

  Cleveland County District Judge Thad Balkman, from his courtroom in Norman, Okla., issued the ground-breaking ruling in what is reportedly the first major lawsuit against an opioid manufacturer to go to trial. Hundreds of such suits are awaiting trial, and more than 1,700 suits have been combined in a federal court in Ohio, according to The Daily Oklahoman. Read More

• Opioids: Trump signs $6B bill to 'end the scourge'

  by Art Toalston, posted Thursday, October 25, 2018 (4 years ago)

  

  NBCnews.com screen capture

  WASHINGTON (BP) -- A bipartisan bill to fight the opioid crisis was signed by President Trump on Wednesday (Oct. 24). Trump stated that the bill provides $6 billion in new funding "to end the scourge of drug addiction in America."

  "We are going to end it, or we are going to at least make an extremely big dent in this terrible, terrible problem," Trump said in a signing ceremony attended by federal officials, members of Congress and law enforcement personnel in the White House East Wing. Read More

• Programs don't change lives. Relationships do.

  by Ryan Navy, posted Thursday, October 25, 2018 (4 years ago)

  

  HUNTINGTON, W.Va. (BP) -- To say Huntington, W.Va., has a drug problem is an understatement. It has one of highest heroin overdose rates per capita in the country.

  I'm a hometown boy. I've been a resident of Huntington for 27 years. But somehow I was numb to the issues and problems facing my city. In fact, when I planted New Heights Church in Huntington three years ago, I never imagined we would be involved in the recovery community. Read More

• Opioid crisis emerges as key W.Va. Baptist ministry

  by Ken Walker, posted Thursday, October 25, 2018 (4 years ago)

  

  Photo submitted

  SCOTT DEPOT, W.Va. (BP) -- Soon after West Virginia Baptists passed a resolution last November urging churches to get involved in addressing the opioid crisis, the state's Upper Ohio Valley Baptist Association started preliminary planning for a Celebrate Recovery group.

  After five months of leader training, an interdenominational group of churches in the Moundsville area hosted their first Celebrate Recovery meeting in early September. Read More

• Opioid abuse gets congressional, Christian responses

  by Daniel Woodman, posted Friday, July 22, 2016 (7 years ago)

  

  NASHVILLE (BP) -- In the wake of an opioid abuse prevention measure passed by Congress, Christians are finding new ways to combat the crisis alongside the new bill.

  Gary Robbins, pastor of East Williamson Baptist in West Virginia, described opioid abuse as a widespread problem that needs to be addressed.

  "Just about everywhere I have been it has been a problem. It has hit everywhere," Robbins said. Read More