Pubdate: Mon, 16 Feb 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37

A WIDESPREAD SCOURGE

The Recent Spike in Heroin Overdose Deaths Is Not Just a Maryland 
Problem, and It Needs a Multi-State, Multi-Faceted Response

Maryland Attorney General Brian E. Frosh's announcement last week 
that his office will join counterparts in five other states - Maine, 
Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania - to share 
information that helps authorities track down and prosecute heroin 
traffickers reflects a growing concern among state officials over the 
recent rise in overdose deaths from the drug. Heroin overdose deaths 
in Maryland have been going up every year since 2011, and the same 
thing is happening in neighboring states.

In taking action that acknowledges the regional scope of the problem, 
Mr. Frosh is responding to a crisis that has taken a terrible toll in 
lives not just here but in states along the entire I-95 corridor from 
Maine to Maryland and beyond.

Mr. Frosh's move complements the view expressed by Gov. Larry Hogan 
last month that the rising number of heroin overdose deaths 
constitutes a public health emergency as well as the "No. 1 problem 
we have in Maryland with respect to crime." The governor pledged to 
convene a task force on the issue headed by Lt. Gov. Boyd G. 
Rutherford and to seek federal funding for more substance abuse 
treatment programs and public information campaigns.

The attorney general's initiative would back-up those efforts by 
establishing formal channels of communication among law-enforcement 
agencies to crack down on the criminal networks that profit from the 
heroin trade.

It's important for state policymakers to recognize that police and 
prosecutors alone can't solve the problem of heroin addiction, no 
matter how well coordinated they are with officials in other states. 
Mr. Frosh says his office and its counterparts elsewhere can 
establish protocols to regularly share intelligence on dealers, stash 
houses and trafficking routes - something that happens now on a more 
ad hoc basis.

That may put a dent in some of the violent crime and other social 
problems associated with drug trafficking in poor communities, but it 
may be less helpful in reducing overdose deaths because new dealers 
will quickly take the places of those arrested, and heroin addicts 
will still crave the drug.

To his credit, Mr. Frosh recognizes that the public safety component 
of addiction is only part of the solution to curbing overdose deaths. 
He notes that heroin is both cheaper and purer than it was a decade 
ago, which makes it more attractive to users.

He also believes that if law enforcement can drive up the costs and 
risks of selling the drug it will eventually improve the public 
health aspect of the problem as fewer people feel they can afford to 
buy heroin.

But he acknowledges that the broader levers of power relating to 
public health policy lie outside his office.

That's why we are eager for Mr. Hogan's to build on Maryland's so-far 
unsuccessful effort to reduce heroin overdose deaths by 20 percent by 
the end of this year. As governor he is responsible for overseeing 
the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene and other state agencies 
that have a direct impact on policies to combat substance abuse, and 
it's imperative he maintain the investment Maryland already has made 
in drug treatment and recovery programs; increase training in the use 
of the heroin overdose antidote Narcan, also known as naloxone; and 
support other state initiatives such as local overdose fatality 
review teams, which examine overdose deaths to look for holes in the 
drug safety net, and the prescription drug monitoring program that 
alerts physicians and pharmacists to suspicious drug purchases.

Heroin addiction is a chronic disease that affects individuals from 
every walk of life in urban, suburban and rural communities alike. 
Treating it successfully requires a coordinated approach that 
includes both public safety measures and broad public health 
strategies. The attorney general's office has joined the fight 
against drug overdose deaths in a way that recognizes Maryland isn't 
the only state affected by this crisis and that it can magnify the 
impact of its initiatives by working more closely with regional 
partners who are experiencing the same problem.

But only the governor has the power to lead the broader public health 
effort needed to make heroin overdoses a preventable illness that no 
longer takes the lives of hundreds of Marylanders each year. The 
sooner he develops a comprehensive plan to do so, the better.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom