Attorney General Kane to Speak at Hearing on Heroin Scheduled at Clarion University

| August 18, 2014

CLARION, Pa. – Pennsylvania Attorney General Kathleen Kane has been confirmed as a speaker for the August 19 hearing on heroin, which will be held at Clarion University.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania has announced the fourth and final public hearing to be held across Pennsylvania to solicit testimony on the increased use of heroin and other opioids.

“None of us can alone solve the scourge of drug abuse and trafficking,” Attorney General Kane said. “Our best hope for success in fighting the heroin and prescription drug epidemic in Pennsylvania is through collaboration and education from agency to agency, student to student, parent to parent, and with our partners in the General Assembly.

“The diversity of perspectives and the potential for fostering future collaboration and making an impact on this dire problem are why this series of hearings are so important,” she said.

Attorney General Kane will provide testimony on the influx of heroin trafficking and abuse that has become a major priority for her office. Heroin trafficking investigations account for the majority of cases handled by the Attorney General’s Bureau of Narcotics Investigation. She will also ask for legislative support for new, innovative law enforcement programs like the Attorney General’s Mobile Street Crimes Unit, which was created with additional funding provided by the legislature in 2013.

In her testimony, Attorney General Kane will also discuss her office’s efforts to foster collaboration among local, state and federal law enforcement agencies to hinder drug trafficking. She will address the influx of heroin and traffickers connected to Mexican drug trafficking organizations, the correlation between prescription pill abuse and heroin use and how drug trafficking increases violent crime.

Information from the hearing can be used to develop legislative policies that may help to curb the use of these dangerous narcotics impacting rural Pennsylvania, according to state Senator Gene Yaw (R-23), Chairman of the Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s Board of Directors.

The hearing is being co-hosted by Clarion University President Dr. Karen Whitney, Center board member. Click here for a Recap of the previous hearings.

The event is from 8:30 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.

It will be held at Clarion University of Pennsylvania, 840 Wood Street, Gemmell Student Center, 2nd Floor (Wilson & Payne Streets), Clarion, Pa.

Background

In Pennsylvania, the number of fatal heroin overdoses has been increasing. According to a 2014 report from the Pennsylvania State Coroners Association, there were 45 reported heroin deaths in 2009 and 124 reported heroin deaths by mid-2013. Although the Center’s focus is on heroin use in rural Pennsylvania, addiction has no municipal, county, or state boundaries. It is, across the board, a national epidemic impacting residents of every age, race, gender, and socioeconomic background.

More information is available on The Center for Rural Pennsylvania’s website at www.rural.palegislature.us, on Facebook at https://www.senatorgeneyaw.com/ or on Senator Yaw’s website, www.SenatorGeneYaw.com, on Facebook at https://www.facebook.com/gene.yaw.3 and @SenatorGeneYaw on Twitter.

The Center for Rural Pennsylvania Board:

Senator Gene Yaw, Chairman
Senator John Wozniak, Vice Chairman
Representative Garth D. Everett, Treasurer
Dr. Nancy Falvo, Clarion University, Secretary
Representative Rick Mirabito
Dr. Livingston Alexander, University of Pittsburgh
Dr. Theodore R. Alter, Pennsylvania State University
Stephen M. Brame, Governor’s Representative
Taylor A. Doebler III, Governor’s Representative
Dr. Stephan J. Goetz, Northeast Regional Center for Rural Development
Dr. Karen M. Whitney, Clarion University

Click here for the agenda: agenda-heroin-hearing-081914


Copyright © 2024 EYT Media Group, Inc. All rights reserved. Any copying, redistribution or retransmission of the contents of this service without the express written consent of EYT Media Group, Inc. is expressly prohibited.

Tags:

Category: Local News, News, Regional News