Governor Maggie Hassan (D-NH) at the NH Forum on Addiction and the Heroin Epidemic

Governor Hassan discusses the opioid crisis in New Hampshire.

View other videos from this forum, held January 5, 2016 in Hooksett (Manchester), New Hampshire at Southern New Hampshire University.

Today's forum represents the spirit of collective problem-solving that is necessary to stem and then reverse the tide of this truly horrible epidemic. As you all know, the heroin and opioid crisis is the most pressing public health and safety challenge facing our State. According to projections by the Chief Medical Examiner. and you've heard them already this morning, more than 400 Granite Staters died from a drug overdose last year, with the majority of those deaths caused by Fentanyl, heroin, or another opioid. And thousands more have overdosed, their lives saved only by the quick action of first responders, medical providers, and their family and friends. Everywhere I go, I hear from people who've been affected by substance abuse. It touches people from all walks of life, and it accounts for billions of dollars in negative impacts on our economy. Our law enforcement officials work together every day, with our federal partners at the DEA to address the supply side of the issue. Thanks to their collaboration, we have seen significant success in arresting drug dealers and in seizing illegal drugs. While we will continue to look for additional, creative ways that we can make more resources available to support law enforcement, we all agree that we cannot arrest our way out of this problem. We certainly have to stop the supply of these dangerous drugs entering our State. But it is absolutely critical that we address the demand side of this issue as well. We must all work together every single day, on a comprehensive approach to combat this crisis. A comprehensive approach that includes supporting law enforcement, while focusing on strengthening prevention, treatment and recovery efforts. In Concord, we continue to push for measures in order to give patients, providers, parents, and law enforcement, better tools in the fight against heroin and opioid abuse. In November, I proposed to the Executive Counsel, and they agreed, that we should call the Legislature into Special Session, to consider comprehensive substance abuse legislation, and since then, a Joint Task Force of the Legislature has recommended expediting a package of bills to get to my desk for signature later this month. The bills include measures to crack down on Fentanyl, which was the major cause of overdose deaths in 2015, and as you have heard, is more lethal than heroin. The bills include bills that insure that the laws and penalties for the distribution and sale of Fentanyl match those for the sale and distribution of heroin. The Legislative Task Force also supported legislation to streamline access to treatment, by requiring all insurance companies to use the same evaluation criteria, and removing prior authorization requirements in certain cases. And among other steps, the Task Force also supported bills aimed at strengthening our prescription drug monitoring program, mandating greater use by prescribers, expanding access to the program, and permitting State funding for it. I applaud the Legislature for its hard work over the last two months, and I look forward to the full Legislature passing these bills as quickly as possible, so that I can sign them into law. While this task force work is an important step forward, we know that the fight against addiction is ongoing, and we have to be constantly working to strengthen our efforts. I'll continue to push for additional changes, although some of these changes may be difficult. These changes require us to ask people to change the way they have always done things, at a quicker pace than they would sometimes prefer. Some of these changes will require additional resources and dollars, and there may be those who say we can't afford to invest in them. I say we can't afford not to. In New Hampshire, Every month, we lose dozens of our fellow citizens. Our families lose their loved ones. Our businesses lose valuable workers. Our future shrinks before us. Combating this crisis continues to require urgent action. There remains broad bi-partisan consensus around other items in the comprehensive proposal that I made to the Task Force.