Pubdate: Tue, 01 Sep 2015
Source: Baltimore Sun (MD)
Copyright: 2015 The Baltimore Sun Company
Contact:  http://www.baltimoresun.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/37
Author: Ruth Goetz

MONEY ALONE WON'T SOLVE MD.'S HEROIN PROBLEM

In a recent editorial The Sun chose to ignore the many positives of 
Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford's interim heroin task force report and 
instead spent most of its energy misinterpreting and then harping on 
his seven-word remark about funding: "It's probably never going to be 
enough" ("Rutherford pleads poverty," Aug. 26).

Why is this shocking? The heroin crisis needs a holistic solution; 
money alone will not solve it. This is widely recognized as fact, and 
was made abundantly clear by numerous testimonials given during the 
task force's open meetings that were held across the state.

It's absurd to interpret the lieutenant governor's comment as saying 
the state won't devote any more money at all to fight heroin 
overdoses. Not surprisingly, though, that's how The Sun decided to 
interpret the remark, even though the administration has already 
committed an additional $2 million to fight the heroin crisis.

Regardless, the interim heroin report was just that - an interim 
report - and the final report will be released in a few months. I 
found it to be an encouraging step toward real, solid progress in the 
fight against heroin, especially the 10 new initiatives that the 
administration will begin implementing in the next few weeks.

I wish The Sun would recognize the commitment that Gov. Larry Hogan 
and Lt. Governor Rutherford have made to solving this issue and to at 
least offer some substantive input of their own.

Ruth Goetz, Pikesville
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom