Opioid Abuse Summit This Month In Cass County

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A summit on the state’s growing opioid abuse problem will be held this month at Southwestern Michigan College in Dowagiac. The all-day event slated for August 19 was partly organized by Cass County Prosecutor Victor Fitz, who says law enforcement and health professionals need to work together to help solve the opioid crisis. Fitz tells us special guest speaker will be Lieutenant Governor Brian Calley, who headed a commission to examine the opioid issue.

“He will be our introductory speaker, and he’ll talk about what the findings of his commission were, and what the solutions are that they’re promoting,” Fitz told WSJM.

Fitz says an opioid addiction commonly begins with someone being prescribed pain medicine, which they grow to abuse. Then, they move on to doctor shopping, to stealing, and finally, to street heroin. That’s why, he says, fighting addiction will take cooperation between both law enforcement and the medical community.