Pa. Joining With Other States To Stop Scourge of Heroin

By Alison Smith:

Pennsylvania has partnered with other Northeastern states in an effort to beat back the scourge of heroin.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane on Tuesday announced the formation of a multistate heroin task force.

Pennsylvania has partnered with New York, Kane said, and will also work with the attorneys general of New Jersey and Massachusetts as the Northeast and Mid-Atlantic Heroin Task Force.

“The drug dealers don’t stop at the state border, and with this partnership, neither will law- enforcement,” Kane said. “By sharing intelligence and other resources, we are taking this war to them, not waiting for them to infiltrate our communities. Today we are putting them on notice – we’re here and we are working together. You can’t hide by crossing the state line.”

Kane’s office said the taskforce will be an “unprecedented law-enforcement collaboration to combat the growing problem of heroin distribution and abuse in communities throughout the region.”

Heroin is perhaps the most significant problem faced by regional law-enforcement officers and public health officials, the Attorney General’s Office said, noting that reports of first-time heroin use have nearly doubled since 2006.

The Task Force will expand the exchange of information between various agencies, Kane’s office said.

Kane said additional states are expected to join the coalition in the coming weeks