California

State attorneys general vowed the funds would go toward tackling the addiction crisis. But as with the tobacco payouts of the 1990s, local officials have started using them to fill budget shortfalls.

Lawmakers have been debating whether and how to stiffen punishments for dealers, while Gov. Gavin Newsom is targeting fentanyl trafficking and distributing more naloxone. The problem, experts say, is one with no easy or clear answers.

The two agencies will join forces with local police and the district attorney's office to ramp up efforts against fentanyl trafficking in San Francisco.

Gov. Gavin Newsom's declaration came after the company said it would not distribute abortion pills in some states. However, California is legally bound to continue doing business with Walgreens through the state’s massive Medicaid program.

The bill would ban several common ingredients used in processed foods, such as Red Dye No. 3, which has been linked to cancer in animal studies.

A new bill in the California Legislature would give legal protections to doctors who mail abortion pills to patients in other states.

Many Black patients also try to be informed and minimize questions to put providers at ease. “The system looks at us differently,” says the founder of the African American Wellness Project.

California Gov. Gavin Newsom said that the state would halt business with Walgreens after the pharmacy giant agreed to stop distributing mifepristone in some red states amid legal pressure.

Some nasty eye infections in California led health officials to link a superbug bacteria to potentially contaminated eyedrops imported from India. At last count, 58 Americans in 13 states have been infected.

About a third of the city's 2,000 homeless deaths between April 2020 and March 2021 were from an overdose. The federal government says the highly addictive and lethal synthetic drug has become the deadliest drug in the nation.