Governor Tom Wolf is taking a significant step to deal with what he has called a
statewide crisis, Gov. Wolf will call a special session
of the legislature this year to address the prescription opioid epidemic, reported the Philadelphia Inquirer.
The session will convene "by the end of the summer, if
not early fall," said House Speaker Mike Turzai (R., Allegheny), and will
focus on finding solutions to an issue rippling across nearly every community.
The announcement came as lawmakers from both parties and the
governor gathered in the Capitol rotunda to renew attention on a problem that
has grown dramatically in recent years.
Almost two-thirds of the 47,000 overdose deaths nationwide
in 2014 were opioid-related, according to the Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention. That year, Pennsylvania recorded about 1,600 overdose deaths from
opioid medications and 800 from heroin, the state Coroners Association
reported.
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