Alcohol & Substance Abuse

The charges stem from federal and state investigators searching Neese’s home in December of 2019.

Municipalities across the country have until Jan. 2 to join the settlement.

Experts blame the continuing surge on the spread of more dangerous street drugs and on disruptions to drug treatment programs caused by the pandemic.

Ketchikan’s fire department says overdose calls more than quadrupled in the first seven months of this year compared to the same time last year.

ADN reporter Michelle Theriault Boots says the deaths have gone mostly unnoticed by Anchorage residents in recent years.

Alaska had 146 opioid overdose deaths last year, the most ever reported.

The recidivism rate for people convicted of drug and alcohol crimes and sent to jail is normally about 50%. The Fairbanks therapeutic courts report a rate of 5% to 7%.

Buprenorphine typically requires an in-person visit for a prescription because it is categorized as a controlled substance. It works to block withdrawal symptoms but doesn’t get users high like heroin or fentanyl do.

Chisholm’s illegal prescriptions “significantly contributed” to the accidental deaths of five patients, who are listed in the document only by their initials, according to the plea agreement.

One change is that now there is no time limit on treatment.