Massachusetts News

State data released Wednesday show a 2% increase in opioid related overdoses in Massachusetts for the first nine months of this year. The numbers are the first to bear out what many advocates have feared for months now: that the opioid epidemic may be worsening amid the coronavirus pandemic. A visible epicenter…

For two weeks in a row, South End and Roxbury residents have taken to the streets to demand elected officials take action to address impacts to their neighborhoods from the opioid epidemic. Dozens of demonstrators took over the intersection of Mass. Ave. and Washington Street on Sept. 3 to draw attention to issues…

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh told South End residents this week the city has “work to do” as it continues to tackle the impacts of the opioid crisis on neighborhoods surrounding the area known as “Mass. and Cass,” but called for other communities around the state to step up their own efforts to address…

A statewide ban on the sale of flavored tobacco products, including menthol cigarettes, is set to take effect on Monday. Massachusetts became the first state to approve such a ban when Gov. Charlie Baker signed the bill in November. The law applies to the sale of all flavored tobacco products…

Starting June 1st, 2020 menthol cigarettes and all other flavored tobacco and flavored vaping products will no longer be widely available in Massachusetts. For years, the tobacco and vaping companies have intentionally and continuously risked health for profit by targeting youth, communities of color, and LGBTQ communities with their deadly…