September 22nd, 2016 by WCBC Radio

Sept. 19 through the 24^th- has been declared  “Heroin and Opioid Awareness Week” in Maryland to bring attention to the epidemic of heroin and opioid-related overdose deaths in the state. Opioid and heroin addiction and abuse across the nation is rampant. In Maryland alone, heroin-related deaths increased by over 200 percent from 2011 to 2015, rising from 247 to 748. Maryland Lt. Governor Boyd chaired the governor’s heroin and opioid Task Force which developed a list of strategies for battling the problem. He tells WCBC News that for areas such as western Maryland, more treatment facilities will go much further to addressing the problem long term than will jail sentences…