The central Illinois heroin and opioid epidemic has reached the point Congressman Darin LaHood is asking the Obama administration to schedule a federal community forum in the 18th district.
Late last month, LaHood, a Republican from Dunlap, sent a letter to the director of the Office of National Drug Control Policy. LaHood said the administration has already held two hearings with 10 more to be scheduled.
LaHood told GLT News, "This epidemic is mushrooming out of control. One reason is because heroin is much cheaper than it used to be. It's available from Mexico and South America, whereas it used to come from Afghanistan and overseas."
LaHood says law enforcement seized over 20 pounds of heroin and over 226 pounds of pharmaceutical and other opioid drugs last year in the 18th district alone, which includes part of McLean County, Peoria, Springfield and Quincy. "I've requested this meeting from the White House," he said. We're going to work with the office on drug policy to try to see if we can hold it, whether that's here in McLean County or somewhere else in the district."
In the letter, LaHood says there were 26 heroin overdose deaths and 70 non-fatal overdoses from August, 2015 to January, 2016 in Peoria County.
