By allowing ads to appear on this site, you support the local businesses who, in turn, support local journalism.
Heroin, painkiller abuse on agenda at drug summit in Detroit
Placeholder Image

DETROIT (AP) — Federal law enforcers from six states are meeting in Detroit to discuss how to confront the growing abuse of heroin and prescription painkillers.

U.S. Attorney Barbara McQuade is hosting the private summit Wednesday. She says drug dealers in southeastern Michigan appear to be taking their trade to other states, including Ohio, Tennessee, Kentucky, western Pennsylvania and West Virginia.

Federal authorities from those states are attending the private summit. McQuade says the problem is a broad one, from doctors who prescribe drugs to people using drugs to others who illegally sell them.

She says she refused a powerful painkiller for a 14-year-old son who broke his ankle.

Pittsburgh U.S. Attorney David Hickton says there's a desperate need for "new ideas." He counts dozens of overdoses in recent weeks in his territory.