U.S. Senator Patrick Leahy says the Senate Judiciary Committee will be holding a field hearing in Vermont on the fight against heroin and opiate addiction.
The hearing is planned for March 17 at the Franklin Conference Center at the Howe Center in Rutland.
Leahy, chairman of the Senate Judiciary Committee, has titled the hearing "Community Solutions to Breaking the Cycle of Heroin and Opioid Addiction."
Federal statistics rank Vermont among the top 10 states for the abuse of painkillers and illicit drug use other than marijuana — including heroin — for people ages 18 to 25.
In January, Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin dedicated his State of the State address to the issue and called in his budget proposal for $10 million in new spending on the problem.
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