Md. Governor-Elect Vows To Increase Fight Against Heroin
BALTIMORE (WJZ) -- Governor-elect Larry Hogan picked a battleground on the public health and safety front and is declaring a state of emergency.
Political reporter Pat Warren reports it's a plague that affects every jurisdiction in the state.
It's heroin.
In a meeting with the five Republican county executives Tuesday, the governor-elect said they all agree that heroin trafficking and addiction is a top priority.
An Anne Arundel Couny mother told her story.
"My own son struggled with addiction. I wouldn't wish it upon anyone. To go to sleep at night---not just fearing but almost expecting---to get a call that your child has died is not a feeling that can be explained to anyone not going through it," she said.
Three million dollars in heroin and cash were seized in Baltimore City. Law enforcement broke up a ring spanning Baltimore County to the Eastern Shore. State police made a stop on I-95 in Perryville that yielded $100,000 of heroin. A trucker in Harford County was caught with a million dollar stash---and what the cops don't confiscate goes into the bloodstream, killing 464 people last year, up 88% from 2011.
"We're gonna declare a state of emergency," Hogan said.
Hogan and the five Republican County Executives---Barry Glassman in Harford County, Steve Schuh in Anne Arundel County, Bob Culver in Wicomico County, Terry Moore in Cecil County and Allan Kittleman in Howard County---all agree that heroin is a top priority.
"Certainly everybody thought of this as an urban problem. It became then a suburban problem. Now it's a rural county problem," Hogan said. "It's something we are all wrestling with. We're gonna focus on it."
Once he takes office, Hogan says there will be a task force summit on tackling the problem because it's something affecting all of the counties.
Hogan takes office January 21.
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