Opioid

Ohio has made gains against opioid addiction and overdose deaths under Gov. Mike DeWine, who championed the RecoveryOhio initiative. With his term ending and a new governor to be elected soon, advocates and lawmakers are watching whether Democrat Amy Acton or Republican Vivek Ramaswamy will keep up the state's focus on treatment and prevention. Acton, who helped lead RecoveryOhio as state health director, pledges to expand treatment access and hold corporations accountable; Ramaswamy's campaign says he supports continuing the initiative and prioritizes behavioral health. Legislators cite concerns including workforce impacts from failed drug tests, looming Medicaid funding cuts, and debate over expanding treatments like cannabis and psilocybin for addiction-linked depression.

The Plymouth Township Board of Trustees voted unanimously to advance an ordinance banning kratom sales township-wide, citing addiction risks and concerns about access for teens and young adults. Kratom, a plant-based substance that mimics opioid effects, is sold openly at smoke shops and gas stations, often marketed alongside nutritional supplements and energy drinks, which officials say makes it easy for parents to overlook. Police Chief James Knittel said the township has seen cases of kratom combined with alcohol or other narcotics leading to heroin-like addiction issues, and warned the substance appears to particularly target high school and college-age users.

Under the proposed ordinance, violating businesses would face escalating civil fines from $1,000 up to $7,500, with potential misdemeanor charges for continued noncompliance. A final vote is scheduled for October 27. Plymouth Township joins Canton and Clinton Township, which already restrict kratom sales to adults 21 and older. At the state level, Michigan lawmakers are considering Senate Bill 1181, targeting synthetic 7-OH products and lab testing, and House Bill 5537, which would ban kratom sales statewide and has passed the House.

The Osceola County School District is moving to install vape detectors at 19 middle and high schools, funded by $191,885 from the county's opioid settlement. The school board is set to approve the agreement, which frames the detection program as an early intervention strategy targeting risk factors linked to substance use disorder among youth, consistent with the goals of opioid settlement spending.

Schools were selected based on high vaping-related referral data. Qualified technicians will install the devices, potentially outside school hours to limit disruption. Once operational, the detectors will send real-time alerts to staff, enabling quicker response, incident documentation, and referrals to cessation and prevention services.

The district has set measurable goals: a 25% reduction in vaping-related referrals compared to the 2024-2025 school year, and referring 100% of flagged students to school-based or community cessation programs. Officials also plan to track student engagement with those services. Parents and community members expressed support, citing growing concern about youth vaping and the need for early intervention.

Communities across New Jersey will mark the 11th annual Knock Out Opioid Abuse Day on October 6, an awareness effort organized by the Partnership for a Drug-Free New Jersey (PDFNJ) in cooperation with the Governor's Council on Substance Use Disorder and the state Division of Mental Health and Addiction Services. This year's observance places added emphasis on opioid safety and safer pain management for older adults, alongside PDFNJ's Healthy Aging Campaign resources.

New Jersey recorded 1,312 suspected drug overdose deaths in 2025, down 27 percent from 2024, according to the state's Office of the Chief State Medical Examiner, including 365 deaths among residents 55 and older. Nationally, 36 percent of adults 65 and older experience chronic pain, and about 12.8 percent fill an outpatient opioid prescription annually. Local events include a Union City outreach with Congressman Rob Menendez and St. Francis Academy students distributing bilingual educational flyers. New Jersey lawmakers have permanently designated October 6 for the observance.

Rhode Island Gov. Dan McKee lost Wednesday's Democratic gubernatorial primary to former CVS and Hudson's Bay Company executive Helena Foulkes, who won decisively 62.4% to 37.6%, four years after narrowly beating her in a multi-candidate race. McKee, governor since 2021, had faced sustained criticism over his handling of the Washington Bridge closure, a critical Interstate 195 span shut down in 2023 over safety concerns whose replacement has run behind schedule; McKee said construction would finish by 2028, but Foulkes called the project "a poster child for mismanagement." Foulkes has focused her campaign on affordability, pledging to build 20,000 new homes, enact a tenant's bill of rights, and push for a gubernatorial line-item veto. McKee had attacked her record on opioids during her 25-year CVS career, but Foulkes maintained opioid dispersal fell 40% under her leadership. Foulkes is heavily favored in November's general election in the deeply blue state.

McKee is the first elected governor to lose a primary since Hawaii's Neil Abercrombie in 2014, and the first sitting governor overall not renominated since Kansas's Jeff Colyer in 2018. On the Republican side, party-backed Aaron Guckian held a narrow lead over Elaine Pelino, a Trump-aligned former actress, in a race too close to call. Sen. Jack Reed easily won his Democratic primary and will face Republican Raymond McKay in November.

Maine Democratic U.S. Senate nominee Troy Jackson is facing renewed scrutiny over his role in passing 2023 legislation that made Maine the first state to decriminalize selling sex. As Maine Senate president, Jackson voted for the bill, presided over its passage, and signed it before it went to the governor. The law also replaced terms like "prostitute" with "person for prostitution" and "prostituted" throughout state statute.

The measure drew opposition from both sex-worker advocacy groups, who argued for autonomy in the industry, and Maine law enforcement, which cited staffing shortages amid rising overdose deaths, homicides, and crashes. The bill advanced as Maine grappled with a housing shortage, a worsening opioid crisis, record homelessness, and high child food insecurity.

Jackson, who also backed gender-transition policy measures for minors and opposed several girls' sports protection bills, has separately faced scrutiny over workplace conduct allegations, his decades-long relationship with a second cousin, and past tax and assault issues. He won the Democratic nomination in July and will challenge incumbent Sen. Susan Collins.