A new CDC report shows a drop in overdose deaths nationwide through most of 2025. Arizona was one of four states with the opposite trend.
Fatal overdoses in Arizona jumped nearly 18% between August 2024 and August 2025, the most of any state. The preliminary data showed, on average, a 20% decline nationwide.
On Wednesday, a state House committee passed a bill that would make it easier to trigger harsher penalties for selling fentanyl.
Current law sets a minimum five-year prison sentence for selling 200 grams. The new bill would change that to 100 grams.
Kara Janssen with We Stand AZ said the measure would be ineffective in preventing drug use.
“We're just sending everyone to prison instead of giving them treatment. There is no treatment in prison, so we're letting people out just as addicted as they were before," Janssen said.
The bill’s sponsor, Republican Rep. Quang Nguyen, said it’s meant to target mid-level dealers.
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Northern Arizona Healthcare has paused its plans to build a new Flagstaff Medical Center, even though the company says it has outgrown its current facility. -
Jaime Vinck is the president of the Meadows Behavioral Health here in Phoenix, which offers inpatient and outpatient treatment for people struggling with addiction. She knows many people are scared to admit they need help. -
Maricopa County public health officials say everyone who was at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport at 4 p.m.-8:30 p.m. Jan. 29 should watch for symptoms of measles through Feb. 19. -
A new lawsuit claims AHCCCS, Arizona’s Medicaid program, could be responsible for upwards of 1,000 children with autism losing access to critical therapy. The attorney who filed suit on behalf of nearly a dozen families is seeking class-action status. -
A bill is advancing in the Arizona Legislature that would require most Arizona hospitals to ask patients whether they are in the country legally.
