U.S. Attorney: A Plan to Curb the Opioid Epidemic

“Through persistent and coordinated action by federal, state, and local authorities, together with the assistance of medical professionals and other leaders in our community, we can put a stop to the spread of opioids and their wake of destruction.”

Last year in the United States, more than 72,000 people died from drug overdose, and more than two-thirds of those deaths involved opioids.

Those numbers are tragic and devastating: Nearly 130 Americans died every single day last year from opioid-related overdoses. That’s more than died from traffic accidents or firearms. In addition to the deaths, many more Americans—approximately 11 million people—regularly misuse opioids. The despair wrought by opioid addiction, on both the addicted and their families, is immeasurable.

Georgians have not escaped the devastating effects of the opioid crisis. In 2017, drug overdoses in the state increased by 16 percent, with nearly 1,500 people dying from drug overdoses—most of those involving opioids. The people of the Southern District of Georgia, whom I serve as United States Attorney, sadly know the scourge of this public health crisis. Outside of metro Atlanta, Richmond County and Chatham County have the highest rates of opiate misuse in Georgia.

U.S. Attorney General Jeff Sessions recently declared that the opioid epidemic is the deadliest drug crisis in American history. Accordingly, he directed all United States Attorneys to use every available tool to combat this deadly epidemic. The United States Attorney’s Office for the Southern District of Georgia is committed to this mission. We are using our authority in criminal and civil enforcement to pursue illegal street gangs and dealers who peddle poison in our communities, along with targeting corrupt doctors, pharmacists, and other medical professionals who abuse their positions of trust.