Following an address by Governor Tom Wolf, the Pennsylvania legislature continued work on several bills aimed at curbing rampant drug abuse across the state.
“We are all aware of the opioid epidemic facing Pennsylvania, a public health crisis of the likes of which we have not before seen,” Wolf said. “Everyday we lose 10 Pennsylvanians to the disease of opioid addiction.”
Gov. Wolf addressed a special session of the state house and senate Wednesday and encouraged continuing efforts to focus attention on this crisis. The state Senate has passed three bills and sent them to the house for a vote including one that establishes an education program for school kids and another that limits the amount of opioids children can be prescribed.
State Senator Scott Hutchinson, who represents a portion of Butler County in the 21st district, was one of those voting in favor of those measures with a goal of making an impact in this fight that affects so many.
“This is an epidemic that touches all of us, rural, urban, suburban, young and old, rich and poor, so it’s something that we all recognize and we’re going to work together going forward,” he said.
Earlier this year, the state senate approved a bill that requires medication prescribers to receive continuing education in pain management, as well as another that would provide academic instruction for high school students in addiction recovery programs.
Written By: Ryan Saeler
Photo: Senator Scott Hutchinson was a panelist at a September 20 public hearing of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania at Indiana University of Pennsylvania on the impact of the heroin and opioid epidemic on Pennsylvania’s rural counties.
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