Opioid overdoses are killing two people in Washington each day, and Attorney General Bob Ferguson on Tuesday urged legislation that will limit new legal opioid prescriptions and monitor those receiving the drug.

The extent of the state's opioid epidemic was outline in a report released by the AG's office, the Washington State Patrol and the Washington Association of Prosecuting Attorneys, detailing its legal and illegal roots.

It urges action on prescription opioids, "often the source of initial exposure to opioids."

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US: Connelly: Lawsuit seeks to block King County vote on safe injection sites - seattlepi.com

Found: Tue Aug 22 14:21:02 2017 PDT Source: Seattle Post-Intelligencer (WA) Copyright: 2017 Seattle Post-Intelligencer Website: http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/408 Author: Joel Connelly

A lawsuit was filed Monday, challenging and seeking to block a public vote on Initiative 27, which seeks to outlaw the opening of supervised consumption spaces, health facilities where people use drugs in a safe environment with access to treatment.

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The growing movement against allowing so-called safe drug injection sites is moving to another city.

The Kent City Council will vote Tuesday night on a proposed moratorium on "community health engagement locations," also called supervised injection facilities.

Renton, Federal Way, Auburn and Bellevue have already passed ordinances banning such sites. The ordinance going before Kent's City Council says there's no evidence that these sites reduce drug addiction.

The Seattle-King County Health Department says someone dies from a heroin or opioid drug overdose every 36 hours in King County. That's more than auto crashes and ranks as the No. 1 cause of preventable death.

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Public health officials are promoting the use of the drug naloxone to help save people from opioid overdoses.

Seattle's opioid crisis is a complicated medical, political and emotional issue, but state leaders are attempting to tackle one of the most immediate concerns facing those on the front line of the fight: Keeping users alive during an overdose.

The Seattle Police Department implemented a nasal naloxone (also known Narcan) program in March 2016, training 60 bike officers to administer the drug to anyone they believed to be suffering from an opioid overdose. The program has been a modest success, with officers reviving 20 people thus far according to Officer Steve Redmond, and there are hopes the program can be expanded department wide.

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Last year, there were 49 cases of kids under the age of 5 accidentally eating treats with marijuana in them.

TACOMA, Wash. - A Tacoma mother says her 14-month-old daughter got sick after eating candy with marijuana in it. And now, she wants to warn other parents.

The woman, who does not want to be identified, said the toddler found the candy at a relative's home without anyone knowing. When she went to pick up her daughter, the girl started acting strangely.

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[photo] Cannabis from Stagecoach Ranch is seen on display during an event at Harvest, a medical marijuana dispensary in the Inner Richmond District, in San Francisco, Calif., on Saturday, November 19, 2016.

SACRAMENTO - California lawmakers want to make it easier for marijuana dispensaries to pay their taxes, saying many cash-only businesses are forced to drive long distances with thousands of dollars to make an in-person payment.

That's clearly not safe, said state Sens. Scott Wiener, D-San Francisco, and Toni Atkins, D-San Diego, who introduced a bill Tuesday to increase the number of places where tax and fee payments can be made in California.

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A bill has been introduced in the state Legislature that would allow marijuana users to grow their own supply at home.

Washington is the only state that allows for retail, recreational marijuana but doesn't also permit cannabis to be grown at home unless by registered medical patients. The new legislation, HB 1092, introduced Wednesday by state Rep. Sherry Appleton, D-Poulsbo, would change that.

If enacted, all adults (21 and over) would be able to grow up to six plants on their private premises so long as the yield is no greater than 24 ounces. Homes with more than one adult would be permitted 12 plants for up to 48 ounces of usable marijuana.

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Marijuana is still illegal under the federal Controlled Substances Act. But Washington voters in 2012 legalized the cultivation, sale and taxation of recreational marijuana. California voted in November 2016 to do likewise.

Will taxes on marijuana help pay high cost of K-12 education funding?

The state's Republican lawmakers have been as slippery as a pig on ice when it comes to finding dollars to pay for state Supreme Court-ordered full funding of K-12 education in Washington, a pattern seen Thursday at The Associated Press' legislative forum.

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