Crime
Attorney General’s Office launches new website, documentary aiming to curb opioid epidemic
Mark Herring’s office released a new website offering prevention and treatment resources as well as a documentary film focusing on the seriousness of Virginia’s opioid crisis.
As the ongoing heroin and prescription drug crisis continues to claim lives and touch families in every corner of the Commonwealth, Attorney General Mark R. Herring today announced the relaunch of a website dedicated to helping in prevention and educational efforts against Virginia’s heroin and prescription drug abuse crisis, as well as a treatment resource locator to help Virginians and their families connect with treatment resources in their community.
As of the end of June 2016, approximately 208 Virginians had died of a heroin overdose, 288 of a fentanyl overdose, and 220 of a prescription opioid overdose. In 2015, 342 Virginians died of a heroin overdose, 224 of a fentanyl overdose, and 397 of a prescription drug overdose–causing state officials to sound the alarm that more needs to be done to address a growing epidemic.
Interactive map: Annual opioid deaths per 100,000 Virginians
“Nearly 1,000 Virginians died of a heroin or opioid overdose last year and this year is on pace to be even deadlier,” Attorney General Herring said in a news release. “That means more loss and more heartbreak for too many Virginia families. When we started thinking about tools we could bring to this fight against heroin and prescription drug abuse, we knew that education and prevention had to be priorities right alongside enforcement and legislation,” said Attorney General Herring.
The relaunched website hosts Attorney General Herring’s new documentary “Heroin: The Hardest Hit,” which features Virginians telling their own stories of addiction, overdose and recovery, including powerful testimony from parents who lost their children to an overdose, Virginians in long-term recovery, and law enforcement and healthcare professionals working to address the problem.
The documentary has been shown on NBC12 in Richmond, viewed more than 77,000 times online, and distributed to schools and other public facilities around the state.
View the documentary in full below.
