Both nationally and in Virginia, we’ve seen recent headlines sparking fear over what’s being called a new “heroin epidemic”. Here, legislators recently wrote a letter to Gov. Terry McAuliffe asking him to establish a task force to fight the growing problem. But not everyone is in agreement on how serious the spread of heroin is, or if the term “epidemic” is even appropriate.
“This is the latest and greatest in terms of fad,” said U.S. Rep. Morgan Griffith, discussing the heroin problem. “This is one where we know that it is a growing problem. We’ve had a hard time as a country getting our hands around it.”
The consensus, particularly from lawmakers, seems to be that heroin use is climbing at an astronomical rate and something must be done immediately to stop it. [Read more…]