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America’s opioid epidemic has not abated. More than 64,000 Americans died of drug overdoses last year — seven per hour, according to the White House. Most of those deaths were from prescription painkillers, heroin, fentanyl and related drugs. Though the illicit street drugs have added complicated and lethal dimensions to the public health crisis, the problem has its roots in legal painkillers — and pain itself. And while some parts of the country are hit harder than others, no place is immune. (11/1)

Former Rep. Patrick Kennedy, a member of the president’s opioid commission, is calling for a robust infusion of federal funds to combat the opioid epidemic, to the tune of $100 billion over 10 years. In an interview with The Hill, Kennedy stressed he views that dollar figure “just as a starting point, at a minimum, minimum, minimum.” (Roubein, 11/2)

Anecdotal evidence from prosecutors across the state indicates opioid abuse is growing in Kansas, Attorney General Derek Schmidt said, but he urged lawmakers not to forget the state’s ongoing methamphetamine problem. Schmidt answered questions about the issue Thursday from a panel of lawmakers in Topeka. Citing anecdotes from county attorneys and statewide health department data on drug poisonings, Schmidt said he believes Kansas has so far been spared the full extent of the opioid crisis that states farther east are reporting. But he told lawmakers they shouldn’t count on things staying that way. (Llopis-Jepsen, 11/2)

A Day of the Dead altar with family photos of orphaned children in the arms of the departed stood as silent testimony to New Mexico's struggle to reduce the toll of opioid addiction, while state lawmakers and health care experts searched Thursday for new tools to combat deaths from the drug crisis gripping the nation. The unique display at a summit attended by some 300 people in the most Hispanic state comes amid Dia de Los Muertos, a Mexican holiday remembering loved ones who have died. (11/2)