Published in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, by Ed Blazina

May 9, 2014

Gov. Tom Corbett added his voice this morning to the growing battle against heroin and the abuse of prescription drugs.

In a news conference at the Allegheny County Courthouse, Mr. Corbett announced he has appointed a working group, headed by Gary Tennis, secretary of the Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, to coordinate efforts by state and local treatment and enforcement officials. The group has a September deadline to make recommendations to the governor.

Mr. Corbett's group is similar to one coordinated in Western Pennsylvania by U.S. Attorney David Hickton as well as county efforts in Washington and Westmoreland.

Flanked by 20 medical, legislative and law enforcement officials, Mr. Corbett noted there were nearly 3,000 heroin overdose deaths in the state between 2009 and 2013.

"These are stories, unfortunately, you see in your daily newspapers," he said.

David Freed, district attorney in Cumberland County and head of the state DA's association, stressed the importance of treating the situations that lead to drug abuse as well as prosecuting drug dealers.

"This us not about locking people up," he said. "It's about saving lives."

Mr. Tennis said his task is to "broaden the scope of who is working on the problem."

(Ed Blazina, "Governor appoints group to tackle heroin use and prescription drug abuse," Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, 5/9/14)