(Updated at 1:40 p.m.) A man from Lorton has been sentenced to 22 years in prison after he gave a young woman a Xanax pill laced with fentanyl and tried to hide evidence of her death in a storage shed, court documents show.
Julian A. Velasquez, 36, was sentenced yesterday (Tuesday) following a plea deal in federal court. It came after authorities found he provided the woman with the drugs, sold heroin to a man before calling 911, and lied to emergency responders, according to court documents.
What to Know About Monkeypox — “More monkeypox cases have been reported in the United States since the first illness was reported in Massachusetts last week. But there’s no need for Virginia residents to panic, health officials say as they learn more about how the viral disease is spread.” [Patch]
County to Talk About Youth Mental Health Issues and Drug Use — “As a parent, our kids’ wellbeing is my top priority. Today, the Board supported my motion to convene a roundtable with reps from [Department of Family Services], our Opioid Task Force, clinical pros, the BOS and school board to directly tackle youth mental health & substance use.” [Jeff McKay/Twitter]
An effort by Fairfax County Police Department with help from Reston Hospital Center just brought in over half a ton of expired and unused drugs.
Part of the Drug Enforcement Agency’s prevention efforts, Fairfax County’s event collected 1,329 pounds of medications on Saturday (April 30).
With fentanyl deaths reaching unprecedented levels nationally, Fairfax County is participating once again in the Drug Enforcement Administration’s Drug Take Back Day.
Led by the Fairfax County Police Department with other county agencies, the event will have drop-off sites set up across the county this Saturday (April 30) where people can dispose of their old and unused medications for free to prevent misuse.
(Updated at 8:50 a.m. on 4/20/2022) A provider of medical marijuana will open two dispensary locations in the Fairfax County area this summer.
Beyond/Hello plans to open new dispensaries in Fairfax (10521 Fairfax Blvd.) and Huntington (5902 Richmond Highway) that will provide medical-grade cannabis to local patients.
Recent drug overdoses by teenagers in the Richmond Highway corridor and emergency care statistics have led Fairfax County officials to intensify their efforts to address the opioid epidemic.
Hospitals and urgent care centers in the county have seen nonfatal overdoses rise in the last three years, from 232 to 324 and 354 as of last year. Most of the opiate cases involve fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that’s 80-100 times more powerful than morphine, while heroin cases are declining, the county health department told FFXnow.
A former Reston resident was sentenced yesterday (Wednesday) to 20 years years in prison for his role in a drug-related murder that happened in Reston in 2011.
Saul Pacheco Mejia, 55, pleaded guilty to aiding and abetting the use of a firearm in a drug trafficking conspiracy, according to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Eastern District of Virginia.
A new drug treatment center could revive a building that has been vacant for more than two decades on Lorton Road.
The Florida-based company Praesum Healthcare Services is seeking Fairfax County’s approval to repurpose the building at 7665 Lorton Road with a medical care facility for inpatient alcohol and addiction treatment and services.
