Montco Grand Jury Releases Report On Opioid Crisis, Makes 6 Recommendations

NORRISTOWN, PA — A Montgomery County Grand Jury has made six recommendations after a thorough investigation of the local roots of the opioid crisis.

A 23-person Grand Jury spent more than a year, from April 12, 2016 to May 12, 2017, reviewing evidence, testimony, and stories surrounding the 249 overdose deaths suffered throughout the county in 2016.

The final report included a series of recommendations to mitigate the crisis, including better treatment options and mandatory minimum sentences for heroin dealers.

Montgomery County District Attorney Kevin Steele called the opioid crisis "one of the most pressing public safety issues of our time."

“The Grand Jury heard testimony from one witness who characterized the opioid epidemic as the largest public health crisis since the AIDS epidemic,” Steele said Wednesday. “It’s an epidemic that threatens the lives, the safety and the entire Montgomery County community, and we must take swift and decisive action if we hope to slow the epidemic. At this point, I don’t think we’re in a position to stop it altogether, but we can make significant inroads.”

The most controversial recommendation made by the Grand Jury is the reintroduction of mandatory minimum sentences for heroin dealers, traffickers, and suppliers. Steele previously joined several other DA's from the Philadelphia area in urging lawmakers in Harrisburg to pass legislation that would bring back mandatory minimums in the state. The State House passed the bill on to the Senate to reinstate in early April, after the State Supreme Court found the measure unconstitutional in 2015. Opponents say that harsher penalties do not decrease recidivism, or repeat offenders, and that the focus should be to ensure ex-cons can get jobs and go to school.

>>Montco, Delco DA's Call For Restoration Of Controversial Mandatory Minimums

The Grand Jury, however, echoed Steele's sentiments. In their report, the jury said "mandatory minimums...would send a strong message to these criminals...this epidemic knows no politics...opioid trafficking continues to grow as sentences decline."

Here are the five other recommendations made by the Grand Jury:

• Increased collaboration and better data collection with regional anti-opioid organizations
• Create pre-arrest drug court for young offenders to encourage early intervention
• Collaborate with Pennsylvania Medical Society and the insurance industry
• Establish more thorough treatment protocols, including the Warm Handoff Program, to deliver patients from law enforcement to the needed treatment
• Create statewide online system to identity available treatment beds in a timely manner for those in need

Patch file photo