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Massachusetts U.S. Sen. Ed Markey is asking two national organizations that deal with life insurance for details about companies that deny coverage to applicants who carry naloxone, often sold as Narcan, the drug that reverses an opioid overdose. Markey's letter comes in response to a WBUR story last week about a nurse at Boston Medical Center who was denied coverage from two different insurers because she carries naloxone. She's reapplied for coverage with the second insurer. (Bebinger, 12/10)

Portland officials are in the early stages of exploring whether the city may create a “jail alternative” for people arrested for non-violent misdeeds related to mental health or addiction, newly released public records show. ...But there are many restrictions on that kind of facility, [deputy city attorney Andrea] Barraclough said. It would need state regulators’ go-ahead and likely would need to follow the same laws as correctional facilities. A person could be held against their will there for only two to five days, she wrote. (Friedman, 12/10)

While opioids remain at the forefront of drug discussions nationwide, the 108-page report from the House Select Committee on Opioids and Substance Use also found that methamphetamine was the state’s biggest problem, saying it should be labeled a “Texas crisis.” More people died from methamphetamine use in Texas in 2016 than from opioids, according to data from a recent University of Texas report. (Huber, 12/10)