Overdose

Paramedics in Harford County rushed a 21-year-old Jarrettsville woman to a hospital Wednesday night for a possible overdose. Emergency crews were dispatched in response to a call that came in at 7:44 p.m. for a woman in the 4000 block of Federal Hill Road, who had possibly overdosed, according to police. The woman was found with a hypodermic needle and transported by paramedics, according to Monica Worrell, a Harford County Sheriff's Office spokeswoman. No further information was available.

Maryland's medical examiner has determined that the Feb. 27 death of an Ellicott City quadriplegic was a homicide. An investigation is continuing. According to a statement this week from the Howard County police department, a final autopsy report from the medical examiner ruled that the death of Kevin Patrick Molony, 51, of Ellicott City, was a homicide by an overdose of oxycodone, a prescription painkiller. Molony was paralyzed in a car accident in 2007 and was living in the 4000 block of Chariots Flight Way, under the care of family members and nurses.

Baltimore City has long held the unfortunate title of "U.S. heroin capital. " Over the years, many people inside and outside of Baltimore have chosen to promulgate this unofficial designation when reporting on or portraying Baltimore's challenges with drugs, addiction and the residual effects of high crime, violence and other social ills. Baltimore, like many urban jurisdictions across the country, has suffered and continues to suffer tremendously from the consequences of illegal drugs flowing into our city.

June 19th marked the 25th anniversary of the cocaine related death of University of Maryland basketball star Len Bias. It was a tragedy that sent shock waves throughout the sports world and the entire country. It turns out it was only the beginning of an epidemic that has grown to impact every sport in this country. Both legal and illegal drug use in sports remains in the spotlight and continues to embarrass, harm and even kill our athletes well before their time. Just in the past several weeks we have seen drugs impact no fewer than six different sports and may have taken the lives of several athletes.

The simple act of trying to keep dentures in place can trigger serious health problems, including neurological damage, a new study by University of Maryland researchers warns. Preliminary studies link the zinc in some adhesives to neurological damage and blood abnormalities, at least among patients who squeeze out too much denture cream, too often, trying to keep their teeth anchored. A review of the scientific literature by faculty members at the University of Maryland Dental School has concluded that these health risks "should be a matter of concern for all dentists caring for denture patients.

A state medical panel upheld a suspension order Wednesday against an obstetrician who ran a clinic in which an 18-year-old woman was badly injured during an abortion. Neither the doctor — George Shepard Jr., 88, who oversaw the five Maryland clinics of American Women's Services — nor his attorney appeared at the hearing in Baltimore of the Maryland Board of Physicians that was to hear evidence against him in the case of the woman, who suffered a perforated uterus and other injuries during an Aug. 13 procedure in Elkton.

The Kitsap County (Washington) coroner said Tony Fein , who was a member of the Ravens during the preseason, died of an accidental drug overdose. Coroner Greg Sandstrom said Wednesday that toxicology tests showed "acute opiate [morphine] intoxication" with the added effect of Alprazolam, a drug used to treat anxiety. Sandstrom says Fein also vomited and aspirated that material. Fein collapsed Oct. 6 at a friend's house near Port Orchard and died at Harrison Medical Center in Bremerton.

In two Baltimore courtrooms adjacent to the one occupied by Mayor Sheila Dixon - known here as defendant Sheila Ann Dixon - here's what happened on Thursday: In one courtroom, Gregory Carmichael pleaded with a judge to get into a program to treat his addiction to alcohol, just one in a parade of substance abusers that morning seeking help instead of jail. In the other courtroom, a judge started picking a jury to try Charles Owens on charges that he shot a man four times in drug-infested Park Heights.

University of Maryland pharmacologist Carrie John died from an allergic reaction and not because she injected a seemingly tainted batch of the narcotic buprenorphine, according to the state medical examiner. "There was nothing in her system to cause her death, no drugs," said Dr. Zabiullah Ali, the pathologist who investigated her death Sept. 27. "It was an allergic reaction to something she injected," Ali said Thursday in response to questions from The Baltimore Sun. "But what it is, we don't know."