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The Food and Drug Administration on Friday approved a higher dose of naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray to reverse the effects of opioid overdoses. "Experts and patient advocates say the more potent medicine is needed because low-dose naloxone sprays and injections sometimes must be given multiple times to keep someone alive until medical help arrives," AP writes. (Gonzalez, 5/1)

Cabell County and the city of Huntington are set to go to trial Monday against drug distributors they accuse of helping to fuel the area’s drug epidemic. At stake is up to $500 million or $1.25 billion to help local communities deal with the damages from the opioid abuse epidemic. Cabell County’s lawsuit was filed in March 2017, with Huntington following. It alleges that AmerisourceBergen Drug Co., Cardinal Health Inc. and McKesson Corp. — the “Big Three” — hold some responsibility for the drug crisis after more than 80 million doses of opioid medication was sent to the area in an eight-year period. (Hessler, 4/30)

Honesty Liller started using drugs when she was 12. "I just wanted to fit in with my friends," she said. It was the start of a rocky journey that Liller, now 40, said took her to many dark places and made her a very different person. "With a name like Honesty I would lie, lie, lie," she added. But when she was 26 years old, a phone call with her father made her realize the "living hell" she had put her family through. That's when she decided to reach out for help. (Kallingal, 5/2)

The nation’s booming weed industry has a potency problem. As more and more states legalize marijuana, companies are facing new pressure from lawmakers across the country — and Capitol Hill — to limit the strength of their products. It’s a level of scrutiny that comes with being allowed to operate in the open after decades in the shadows. (Demko and Fertig, 4/29)