Townie Tidbits

By Sal Giarratani

STATE SENATE FIGHTING BACK AGAINST OPIOID ABUSE

 I read the recent commentary in the Quincy Sun by state Senator Bill Keenan about the progress being made during the current opioid crisis reeling around society, I want to give kudos to Sen. Keenan for working to fix things rather than just make political soundbites for media consumption.

The reality that everyday, four people die from opioid overdoses should wake everyone up.The numbers of overdoses, deaths and addiction are staggering. How many got there is also mindboggling. Many get hooked on pain medications for injuries. In New York City recently, the NY Post reported “zoobies’ roaming Manhattan streets like a scene out of the movie “The Night of the Living Dead.” Most of those folks picked up by the police had overdosed on opioids laced with fentanyl  which by the way is 100 times more powerful than morphine as a pain killer.

Bravo to Sen. Keenan who has filed a bill to effectively bring the commercial insurance industry back into the picture and program. Keenan wants to see more services to those in need and he wants to see a commitment by government to be more proactive on this costly issue that is killing people and destroying families.

Quincy is lucky to have someone in the State Senate like Keenan and if his bill passes and becomes law it will benefit Charlestown and the entire  Commonwealth fighting this poison and tackling this epidemic affecting all of us one way or another.

One of Keenan’s co-sponsors is Charlestown’s own Senator Sal DiDomenico and I appreciate him working along side Keenan on this important piece of legislation.

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