Opioid Crisis Focus at State, Local Level
Written by Andrew-Rossi on January 16, 2018
State Senate President Eli Bebout says opioid abuse in Wyoming will be one of his top priorities during the upcoming legislative budget session.
The Republican from Riverton says he believes Wyoming needs to start addressing the problem before it grows. Bebout told the Casper Star-Tribune that he had observed the havoc wreaked by opioid abuse in other states and wants Wyoming to avoid the same fate.
Cody Police Chief Chuck Baker agrees with Bebout, in that Wyoming hasn’t been hit as hard by the epidemic as other states, but the numbers of arrests related to opioid abuse in the area have been slowly increasing over past years. And Baker says there’s no one comprehensive answer.
Bebout says he is hoping to pass legislation creating a taskforce to address the issue, and that task force could suggest new laws or ways for the state to combat the issue before the 2019 session. But Bebout says he’s also open to taking more tangible actions when the Legislature meets this year.
