North Andover Establishes Opiod Abuse Task Force

North Andover selectmen voted unanimously to approve the formation of an opioid abuse task force to help combat the addiction crisis.

The group will be dedicated to identifying the impact the epidemic has inflicted on their town and its residents.

The task force will start by compile addiction and overdose statistics on North Andover to get a sense of how big the problem is. 

“We (as a town board) don’t have a full understanding of the scope of this problem,” Selectman Phil DeCologero said in a statement. “Having us, as a board, better understand the scope is critically important to fixing this problem.”

The selectmen feel that the No. 1 way to battle opiod addiction is through education. The task force want to educate young students in middle and high school on the dangers of opioids. That could stop them from abusing the drugs later on in their lives.