He dropped in on the their meeting on Friday.
Annapolis, Md (KM). The opioid crisis was one of the issues discussed Friday during the weekly Frederick County Delegation meeting. 6th District Representative David Trone (D) met with local legislators in Annapolis to update them on what he’s doing on the federal level to address this problem.
Delegate Jesse Pippy (R) chairs the local Delegation. “This is a multi-facet problem. We have to address it abroad and we have to address it locally,” he says.
Pippy says this problem is further exacerbated by fentanyl, a powerful and deadly synthetic chemical which is mixed in with a lot of illegal drugs sold on the street. “A few years ago, they passed a law that if a drug dealer knowingly sells fentanyl, they get an additional 10-year sentence added on top of whatever penalty they were additionally going to get,” he says.
And there’s a good reason for this stiff sentence. “You use fentanyl one time, you die,” says Pippy. “It’s incredibly unsafe scenario to have someone knowingly selling and distributing that throughout our community is reckless.”
But Pippy says legislators must also make sure there are treatment centers for addicts to get clean, and Congressman Trone discussed that during the Friday meeting. “I think the key here is assuring that people that are in recovery that they have options. That there is a place to go to talk with individuals, professionals,” he says. “We want them to make it through this. We want them to get better. We want to assist them>’
Delegate Pippy says he and fellow Delegate Karen Lewis Young (D) are focusing on the recovery aspect of drug addictions as well as the ethical practices connected with recovery.
Later this year, a detox center is expected to open in Frederick County at the Work Release Center on Marcies Choice Lane.
By Kevin McManus