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Last year saw more drug overdose deaths than ever before in New Hampshire. So far in 2016, the state’s confirmed at least 48 deaths, with another 89 potential cases on top of that — officials are waiting for more toxicology reports to add those into the total. (McDermott, 4/21)

Manchester accounted for nearly a quarter of the fatal drug overdoses reported across New Hampshire last year, according to newly released data from the medical examiner’s office. The state's largest city saw 106 overdoses last year, out of a statewide total of 433. (McDermott, 4/21)

The New Hampshire House killed a bill Wednesday to fund a program designed to teach substance abuse prevention in high schools. HOPE, which stands for Heroin and Opiate Prevention Education, is run by Plymouth State University and offers peer to peer prevention. But not every school in the state participates (Sutherland, 4/21)

More than a month after the Senate acted on legislation to reduce heroin deaths, the House is trying to figure out how to deal with the election-year issue. Heroin and opioid painkiller abuse is a growing, deadly problem that has become a top political issue in many states. More than 47,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2014 in cities and rural areas alike, more than double the death rate in 2000. (4/21)

The leaders of the House’s bipartisan panel on opioid abuse are charging forward with a major legislative package they hope will mark one of the largest federal commitments to date on fighting addiction. The group, led by Reps. Frank Guinta (R-N.H.) and Annie Kuster (D-N.H.), will formally endorse 15 bipartisan bills on opioid abuse Thursday. The legislation includes $85 million in local grants and $10 million for prescription drug monitoring programs, which Guinta and Kuster hope will become the framework for the broader House bill slated to reach the floor next month. (Ferris, 4/21)