Opiate Task Force Focusses on Drug Overdoses, Including Malden

Middlesex County District Attorney Marian Ryan in partnership with Hallmark Health System and Sen. Jason Lewis, hosted a special meeting of the Eastern Middlesex Opioid Task Force on Thursday at Lawrence Memorial Hospital.

The Opioid Task Force focuses on combating the increase in drug overdoses in the eastern region of Middlesex County, serving the communities of Malden, Medford, Melrose, North Reading, Reading, Stoneham, and Wakefield. Twenty percent of the overdose deaths in Middlesex County in 2015 occurred in these communities, with 80 percent of those deaths caused by heroin.

The forum, Crafting a Solution from the Inside: A Public Policy Dialogue Forum, involved a panel conversation with Alan Macdonald, President and CEO, Hallmark Health System, Marie Burke, District Court Drug Court Coordinator, Dr. Brian O’Connor, President, Middlesex Recovery PC, and six individuals in various stages of recovery in addiction.

The conversation, part of District Attorney Ryan’s new county-wide Mobile Public Policy Forum, was moderated by the district attorney. These forums were designed to encourage individuals in recovery to share their personal experiences with key stakeholders offering recommendations to improve access to care and other critical services.

District Attorney Ryan is using these forums to bring together leaders from law enforcement, health care providers, and policy makers to propose unique and innovative solutions to the opioid crisis. The inaugural forum was held last month at Lowell General Hospital.

“The task force has taken a multi-pronged approach to the opioid crisis,” Ryan said in a news release. “A major part of the solution is education. The personal stories shared in these forums will help us shape our approach moving forward to ensure we are using the most effective solutions to address this epidemic.”

During this legislative session Ryan filed legislation that would limit opiate prescriptions from an Emergency Department or walk-in clinic to a 72 hour supply. A similar provision was later included in Governor Charlie Baker’s opioid bill filed this month. Additional legislative efforts by Ryan include filing legislation to regulate a new synthetic chemical drug, NBOMe – often referred to as “N-bomb.” N-bomb is illegal under federal drug laws but not yet classified as a controlled substance in Massachusetts.

The Eastern Middlesex Opioid Task Force includes first responders, police and fire officials, municipal health workers, doctors, nurses, social workers, substance abuse counselors, community-based advocates and probation officers. Numerous elected officials, public administrators, and health care executives have joined Senator Lewis on the Task Force.

Middlesex County is the most-populous county in Massachusetts and one of the most-populous counties in the country with 54 towns and cities comprising over one quarter of the population of Massachusetts. The Middlesex District Attorney’s Office has offices throughout the county, including in Ayer, Cambridge, Concord, Framingham, Lowell, Malden, Marlborough, Newton, Somerville, Waltham and Woburn.