In a letter published in the Howard County Times on September 28th, 2016, Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman announced several key initiatives aimed to curb Heroin and Opioid addiction in our communities.
In the commentary, which you can read in full here, Kittleman announced his Administration will be funding a new Heroin Coordinator position that will operate within the Howard County Police Department.
This position will work along side police officers in HCPD’s Vice and Narcotics Division and be responsible for tracking fatal and non-fatal overdoses, analyzing local addiction trends, and facilitating coordination with the health department, state and federal agencies, treatment professionals and others.
The move is part of a broader strategy taken by the Kittleman Administration to better coordinate existing resources to combat the growing opioid epidemic.
“We are extremely fortunate in Howard County in many ways. Good schools, safe communities, low unemployment, beautiful parks. But like thousands of other communities, we have not escaped the epidemic of opioid addiction that has swept the country.” – Allan Kittleman
According to the Howard County Police Department’s Vice and Narcotics Division, heroin-related deaths have doubled from 8 to 16 from 2014 to 2015. There have been 20 overdose deaths, ten of which have been confirmed to involve heroin thus far in 2016. There have been 83 non-fatal heroin overdoses reported in 2016 as well.
The Tri-County Opioids Addiction Summit: An Honest Discussion About Heroin & Opioids Here At Home
On October 4th, 2016, in concert with County Executives Barry Glassman of Harford County and Steve Schuh of Anne Arundel County, the Kittleman Administration organized a Tri-County Opioids Addiction Summit to share information, best practices and strategies. Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford is expected to participate and speak on behalf of the Hogan Administrations work on this important issue.
At the summit will be experts on addiction neurobiology, psychiatric pharmacy, and law enforcement.
This event is free, open to the public and anyone interested can register online here.
To read County Executive Allan Kittleman’s letter in the Howard County Times in its entirety, click here.
My Admin is doing important work to battle #Opioid Addiction here in #HoCoMD. Read abt it here: https://t.co/JaKaYCKvHQ
— Allan Kittleman (@AKittleman) September 29, 2016
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