Legislation Targeting Opioid Abuse in Texas

AUSTIN – A state legislator from East Texas has filed two bills focusing on the opioid crisis in the state. State representative Jay Dean of Longview has filed the bills which focus on increasing the availability and the visibility of drug take back locations, targeting criminals and empowering people. Dean admits that not every opioid user is an abuser. There are people with a serious illness that need opioids to give them any type of quality of life. His legislation targets the abuser. The National Institute on Drug Abuse says over 130 people die from an opioid overdose every day in this country. And Dean’s news releases says Longview ranks 17th nationally in opioid abuse.