WASHINGTON — Several bills aimed at reducing heroin deaths have been introduced in Virginia’s General Assembly, including one that would hold drug dealers accountable if their drug kills someone.
“The number of fatalities due to heroin overdoses increased almost 165 percent in Northern Virginia in the last two years,” Virginia Attorney General Mark Herring says.
“It is a statewide problem. We’re seeing it in every region in the state.”
Herring says heroin use or opiate prescription drug abuse is not just an urban problem. He says it happens in suburban and in rural areas.
“Too many Virginians are losing their loved ones to these dangerous drugs. I don’t want to see another parent have to bury a child or another child losing a mom or dad to these addictive and dangerous drugs.”
Four bills have been introduced in the General Assembly are aimed at reversing the trend in heroin deaths.
- The Drug-Induced Homicide bill would hold drug dealers accountable if their drug kills someone.
- The “Safe Reporting” bill would encourage a person to call for help if he sees another person having an overdose.
“Many times they’re reluctant to do that because of fear that they might be charged with a crime. And by encouraging them to reach out call for help, we’re more likely to be able to save someone’s life,” Herring says.
- House bill No. 1458 would expand the state’s pilot Naloxone project, which is only in a few places right now. Naloxone is a drug that counteracts the effects of a heroin or prescription opiate overdose almost immediately.
“It has been proven effective. There are similar programs in over 20 states around the country,” Herring says.
- Senate bill No. 817 would expand the prescription monitoring program, allowing probation officers access to state database so they can make sure people who should not be getting prescription drugs are not.
Herring says law enforcement and prosecution are important, but that the problem of drug overdoses also is a public health issue. He says Virginia needs to combine new laws with a major public awareness campaign so people can understand just how addictive and how lethal prescription opiates and heroin are.
He adds more education and prevention programs are needed in middle and high schools, in order for young people to make good decisions.
“I remember meeting a woman who had lost her daughter about a month earlier. And she looked me in the eye and said, ‘Don’t let this happen to another child in Virginia.'” Herring says.
Herring will address the spike in heroin deaths on Tuesday at the state Capitol. He’ll be joined by lawmakers from both sides of the aisle, law enforcement and parents who’ve lost children to the drug.
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