Sep. 28, 2016
HARRISBURG – Gov. Tom Wolf spoke before a joint session of the General Assembly on Wednesday to reinforce the need for meaningful legislation to address Pennsylvania’s ongoing opioid addiction epidemic, which is plaguing all regions of the Commonwealth. After the joint session, Rep. Kurt A. Masser (R-Columbia/Montour/Northumberland) made the following statement:
“Last year, we lost 3,500 Pennsylvanians to addiction. The governor likened that number to losing the populations of nearby Freeland or Mifflinburg, which really humanized the number of people we are losing annually. He continued to say that this public health crisis is affecting all Pennsylvanians, and is threatening entire communities across the state.
“I was very glad to hear the governor talk about several bills that passed the House in June, which he would like to sign into law as soon as possible. This includes
House Bill 1805, which I am sponsoring; it would require doctors and pharmacists to attend opioid- and addiction-related training prior to obtaining relevant licenses, and to further require ongoing training in every renewal period. As these opioid addiction problems grow, having these providers well trained to diagnose addiction is fundamentally important. This bill passed the House in June, and I am very hopeful the Senate will consider it soon.
“As the governor said, we still have so much work to do on this issue. Unfortunately, this isn’t an issue where one solution will fix the entire problem. This will be an issue where we will need to continue to work together with communities outside the Capitol, including medical professionals, law enforcement and many others in order to properly address. I am committed to supporting initiatives that will help end the cycle of addiction.”
For information about this issue, or any other state-related issue, contact Masser’s district office in Elysburg located at
467 Industrial Park Road, by calling 570-648-8017. Information can also be found online at
RepMasser.com or
Facebook.com/RepMasser.
Representative Kurt A. Masser
107th District
Pennsylvania House of Representatives
Contact: Krisinda Corbin
717.705.2032
kcorbin@pahousegop.com
RepMasser.com /
Facebook.com/RepMasser