White House to host first in series of regional forums Wednesday on opioid epidemic

The White House Office of National Drug Control Policy will host on Wednesday in Oklahoma the first in a series of regional forums on evidence-based initiatives to prevent and treat prescription opioid drug abuse and heroin use. “The forums will highlight local examples of how states and communities are using these and other tools, so their efforts can serve as models for others,” said National Drug Control Policy Director Michael Botticelli, announcing the forums last week. “We have lost too many children, parents, friends and neighbors to delay in making these tools available wherever they are needed.” According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, an estimated 18,893 drug-poisoning deaths involving opioid analgesics were reported in 2014, up from 4,030 in 1999; heroin deaths rose to 10,574, up from 1,960 in 1999.