State officials hope federal opioid bills will help Michigan. Democrats are looking for a boost from an increase in absentee ballot requests. WMU women’s soccer loses on the road.
(WKAR) According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, the number of people dying from overdoses involving prescription opioids was 5 times higher in 2016 than 1999. Legislation awaiting President Trump’s signature hopes to bring that number down. The bill enhances access for medication assisted treatment, provides grant money to increase capacity at treatment centers and increases screening and drug management programs. Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley served on the Michigan Prescription Drug and Opioid Abuse Task Force. He says the federal government‘s support of opioid addiction treatment indicates the changing stigma of drug abuse. Calley says one positive step in tackling the opioid crisis is a reduction in the amount of opioids doctors are prescribing.
(Detroit News) State officials are reporting an increase in requests for absentee ballots for next month’s election. The Detroit News says the requests for absentee ballots are up 22% compared to the last mid-term election in 2014. Democratic political activists are optimistic that the additional absentee ballots will help them in the general election. Republican officials say the increase in absentee ballots did not help Democrats in 2016, and the GOP says it has a better Election Day turnout operation.
(Michigan Radio) 167 new survivors have come forward in the Larry Nassar case since Michigan State University reached a settlement agreement with more than 300 women last May. That brings the total to about 500 women and girls who have accused Nassar of sexually assaulting them. Lawsuit proceedings are on hold while the group negotiates a settlement with Michigan State University, USA Gymnastics, and the U.S. Olympic Committee.
(WCMU) The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality sent the U.S. Air Force a violation notice late last week for lagging on its clean up of the Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda. The notice found that water in Clark’s Marsh, near the Air Base, had PFASes at levels over one hundred times higher than the surface water quality standard of 12 parts per trillion. PFASes are a family of chemicals that have been linked to cancer and other health problems in humans. Firefighting foams used at the base are known to have leaked PFASes into nearby groundwater. In a written statement, members of the Michigan PFASes action team said it will use quote “every regulatory and legal means necessary to force the Air Force to address this contamination.” The Air Force did not respond to a request for comment.
(WDET) Less than a week after legalizing marijuana for recreational use Canada is already running out of cannabis. Canadian officials told the CBC the country has not been able to meet the demand for legal weed. Police had to help control long lines of people upset that shops had already run out of the herb. Medical marijuana has been legal in Canada for more than a decade-and-a-half. But last week Canada became only the second nation in the world to legalize cannabis for recreational use.
In women’s soccer, Western Michigan lost its final Mid-American Conference road match of the season Sunday, 2-0 at Ohio. The Broncos are 6-4 in the MAC and 12-6 overall. Western will host Northern Illinois Thursday afternoon to close out the regular season.