General Assembly, AG form study committee on opiate epidemic

Republican leaders of the state House and Senate joined with Attorney General Mike DeWine to create a citizen study committee to recommend ways to effectively drive home an anti-drug message from the time a student first steps on a bus for kindergarten (Source: “Committee aims to halt epidemic of opiate abuse,” Toledo Blade, Aug. 12, 2016).

“It’s the worst drug epidemic in my lifetime,” DeWine said. “It’s pervasive. It’s everywhere. It’s in all 88 counties. It’s among every social group, every economic group.”

The Joint Study Committee on Drug Use, with the goal of producing a report within 90 days, will consist of lawmakers, school teachers and administrators, addiction specialists, law enforcement and health-care providers.