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Nazareth, Pa., United States

Tuesday, February 23, 2016

McNeill To Host Town Hall About Heroin Epidemic

There's little dispute that heroin overdose deaths have reached all-time highs in Pennsylvania and nationwide, causing more fatalities than car crashes. It's an equal opportunity killer, too. Suburban deaths are steadily climbing. It the heroin is laced with Fentanyl, it becomes 30-50 times more potent. State Rep. Daniel McNeill, D-Lehigh, will host a town hall meeting on the heroin and opioid addiction epidemic that is plaguing the Lehigh Valley.

The event will be held at 6 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 24 at Whitehall High School, 3800 Mechanicsville Road, Whitehall in the Large Group Instruction Room.

McNeill will be joined by Lehigh County District Attorney Jim Martin, Lehigh County Sheriff Joe Hannah, Lehigh County Administrator for Drug and Alcohol Layne Turner, Lehigh County Chief Deputy Coroner Andrew Kehm, Toxicologist in Emergency Medicine for Lehigh Valley Health Network Dr. Matthew Cook, Devin Reaves from Young People in Recovery, representatives from HOPE (Heroin and Opioid Prevention Education), Denise Continenza from Communities That Care/Penn State Extension, and Nicholas Labar, a recovering addict and advocate for clean and sober living. Parents and students are invited to ask questions and be part of the discussion.

The meeting will focus on how and why children get involved with drug use, how to identify children who are abusing the drugs, and what the community can do to fight back and prevent the use and abuse of such addictive narcotics.

If you plan on attending, please consider writing a brief story. I will be covering Bethlehem's Zoning Hearing Board at that time, but I think we all need to know how we can help.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

Grandstanding. Maybe if he did his job and supported a sensible no tax increase budget, social services and law enforcement agencies would have state funding in a timely manner to address the issue.

Anonymous said...

Too bad they will never do the only thing that will work. Legalize all opioids. Allow addicts to acquire them legally through a doctor. The doctor advises and monitors their addiction and offers rehab opportunities. The addict is under medical care and is advised by the doctor on proper dosage. If the addict dies, he/she probably would have died anyway. Otherwise, the person is under control or on his way to kicking.

But no, these people will push interdiction, incarceration, and more war on drugs non-solutions.

The desire to get high will never go away. Just look at all the bars packed with addicts.

Anonymous said...

8:41am
This like the legalization of all drugs makes for a the zombie arena agenda¿!)$ Those with any amount of intellegence know that putting posion in ones body has lasting effects that are irreversable, both on mind and body¿!)$
As for the war on drugs, our military protects the producing countries for big pharmisudicles¿!)$ Locally the notorious hamiltom street gang o thugs propgate this same war yet are reeping monies from below and above¿!)$ This cover both ends of the spectrum and in between too¿!)$ Hence, Hamilton Hanna Herion Herpie Hook-up pool side also in collusion with LVHN formally known as The Great Allentown Hospital Circus traveling freeks and geeks of the back midway and mommas cigar surpriZe sidwayZ twiZtZ put to print advertiZmentally¿!)$
The Game, Caining of the BIOLZ on ActorZ gender specific not only on there spinkters but also on there taint pounded and looking the same aZ the other Browne Hole yet with the smell that is undescribable in just words¿!)$
The Carnival smells are just like those of third world nations with the boil, Zit and cyst to add to the olfatorey sense of smell:(¿!)$

Anonymous said...

8:41 The law enforcement prison industrial complex will fight legalization because it threatens their existence.

Bernie O'Hare said...

""Too bad they will never do the only thing that will work. Legalize all opioids."

That's absurd. This isn't marijuana, but a killer that should be illegal.

Anonymous said...

Talk is cheap.

Bernie O'Hare said...

I'd agree that your anonymous comment is cheap. But the remarks from the panel will be very useful to parents, unless negative haters like you. There will be people there with lots of advice that might just help parents prevent their children from abusing.

Anonymous said...

Yes this my help Bernie,
But than there are the incubators that work under cover under colur of area of arena carnival law¿!)$ They in turn are opperating said criminal corperations while hold official seats as well as conflicting seats in said organiZations¿!)$ Oooopsy as well as RePlacment seats for the notorious hamilton street gang o thugs ticket takers cheesy yeast infected french fries for sale epicentralized in said arena area ReVitaliZation Corparation¿!)$

Oooops, I said it again, all one yet complicite and cognazant seperated by the twiZtZ followed by LLC or some other fictisious lettering put to print CITY CENTER 1one 2two 3three to infintium¿!)$ What is and allways was ONE corp operating under the bigtop LVHN formally The Great Allentown Hospital freeks and geeks of there mommas cigar surpriZe secret twiZtZ¿!)$

Besides that under king palumpas rule said party favor consessionair competitors pay campaign donations as well as grant grab get to give shop opperation protection¿!)$
Did you delete east sider and its coconspeiritor from its illbehaviors and circus actZ ommited¿!)$
redd for Republican
patent pending

Anonymous said...

Right on Bernie! Heroin is no joke. It will kill our youth and tear apart our families and communities. I am glad this politician is educating the public before the Lehigh Valley is full of it like NJ already is.

Anonymous said...

Its already killing people because they are not under any care when using it. They will not stop using. So your solution is status quo. I know you have a brain capable of reason - try and not let emotions cloud it.