Opioid Crisis: Harford County Exec to Address Heroin Epidemic at Tri-County Summit

BEL AIR, MD — Some of Maryland's leading lawmakers, including Harford County Executive Barry Glassman, plan to share how they are addressing the crisis of opioid addiction across the state.

Glassman will join county executives from Anne Arundel and Howard counties as well as Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford at the Oct. 4 "Tri-County Opioids Addiction Summit" in Clarksville.

In Harford County, the number of suspected heroin-related deaths has already exceeded last year's count: 27.

Officers have responded to 32 fatal suspected heroin overdoses so far in 2016, Harford County Sheriff's Office spokesman Kyle Andersen said as of Monday, Sept. 19.

At the October forum on the opioid crisis, Glassman will detail how Harford County is approaching the heroin and opioid epidemic. Among other initiatives, Harford County has spent $100,000 on a public awareness campaign and programs to support those moving from active addiction into recovery, winning national recognition for innovation.

In addition to Glassman, Anne Arundel County Executive Steve Schuh and Howard County Executive Allan Kittleman will share their strategies for handling the opioid epidemic in their respective jurisdictions.

In Maryland, state health officials said that 86 percent of all overdose deaths last year involved opioids, and the number of fatalities was rising.

Heroin-related deaths increased by 29 percent between 2014 and 2015, according to the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene; there were 748 heroin-related deaths recorded in 2015 in Maryland, compared with 578 in 2014.

Rutherford will outline how state officials are working to combat addiction in Maryland, where the governor recently put $3 million toward combating the heroin epidemic, with money funding new positions such as intelligence coordinators and peer recovery specialists in jurisdictions across the state.

• Know someone who needs help? The state has set up a webpage for Marylanders seeking help with addiction and also runs the 24-hour-a-day Maryland Crisis Hotline at 1-800-422-000.

The Tri-County Opioids Addiction Summit will be from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Tuesday, Oct. 4, at Ten Oaks Ballroom, 5000 Signal Bell Lane, Clarksville. The keynote speaker — WBAL sportscaster Keith Mills — will talk about his experience with addiction.

• Heroin Death Toll Eclipses 2014 Total in Harford
• Heroin Epidemic Escalates Across Maryland
• Harford County Wins Award for Campaign to Combat Heroin

Pictured, sign outside Harford County Sheriff's Office on Main Street in Bel Air on Sept. 14, 2016; photo by Elizabeth Janney.