The public is invited to a heroin town hall meeting Wednesday at Tamaqua Area Middle School, 502 Penn St., Tamaqua.
The discussion from 6 to 8 p.m. will focus on prescription opioid use and the heroin public health crisis. The event, sponsored by the Tamaqua Area School District and the Tamaqua Area Student Government Association, is the second town hall meeting on the topic. The first was held in December at Jim Thorpe High School, Carbon County, with 19 panelists. About 150 attended, Todd Zimmerman, an adjunct history professor with Lehigh Carbon Community College, said.
Zimmerman came up with the idea for the town halls after watching a CBS “60 Minutes” episode about heroin in October 2015. He went to talk to students in a class later about heroin and the students told him about where they could get it locally. He wants to continue to “bring awareness to the community” about the dangers of heroin and prescription drug use.
State Physician General Dr. Rachel Levine, Secretary Gary Tennis with the state Department of Drug and Alcohol Programs, Schuylkill County Judge James P. Goodman, Carbon County Judge Joseph Matika and Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman will each speak for 15 to 20 minutes.
Levine will talk about the prescription opioid and heroin problem. Tennis, Goodman and Matika will explain drug courts. Holman’s focus will be what the district attorney’s office does to combat the drug epidemic, Zimmerman said.
Holman said the event is important because drugs are an issue that continues to need to be addressed in the county.
Attendees will have the opportunity to ask questions.
“There are a lot of drugs out there that people are not aware of,” Zimmerman said.
He provided a list of information to area superintendents and principals about the dangers of prescription medication and also a “Dear Parents” letter. The letter mentions the number of overdoses in 2015 statewide, about 2,500; the deadly consequences heroin can have; and that parents can help their children by asking questions if that child is prescribed medication.
Zimmerman will also talk about an opiate awareness poster contest for students in grades 9 to 12 in Schuylkill and Carbon counties. The contest starts today. Deadline for poster submissions is April 29. One submission is permitted per student. Prizes will be awarded.
For more information, send an email to tzimmerman@lccc.edu.