Gov. Larry Hogan has unveiled his 2017 heroin and opioid prevention, treatment and enforcement initiative.
It includes three new pieces of legislation.
One targets people who sell opioid drugs that end up killing the user.
Another limits the prescription of an opioid to a seven-day supply, except for cancer and hospice patients.
And the third makes it easier to track non-fatal overdoses, helps establish prevention strategies and expands access to Naloxone.
The hope is to decrease a problem that impacts communities across Maryland.
"I knew heroin was a problem three years ago when I first started looking at it," Hogan said. "I had no idea how pervasive it had become.it was in our smallest county, our most rural town, it was in our suburban areas, it was in our cities, it was affecting every socio-economic class and people everywhere."
Hogan also signed an executive order to establish the opioid command center, making it easier for federal, state and local organizations to work together to combat addiction.
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