Portman to Visit Neil Kennedy Clinic Today

YOUNGSTOWN, Ohio – U.S. Sen. Rob Portman this morning will visit the Neil Kennedy Recovery Center to discuss the heroin and prescription drug epidemic with community leaders and individuals in recovery.

Portman, R-Ohio, also will tour the Neil Kennedy recovery homes, including a new one slated to open next month. The senator is the author of the Comprehensive Addiction & Recovery Act, which was signed into law last year.

He will discuss the need for his Synthetics Trafficking & Overdose Act, which is designed to help stop dangerous synthetic drugs like fentanyl and carfentanil from being shipped through U.S. borders to drug traffickers here.

Mahoning and Trumbull counties, like counties all over Ohio, have been hit hard by the epidemic. This month alone, 19 deaths in Trumbull County have been attributed to overdoses.

Meanwhile, U.S. Rep. Bill Johnson, R-6 Ohio, met Thursday with President Donald Trump and members of Congress to discuss the national drug addition and opioid crisis. During the meeting, Trump again expressed his willingness to work with anyone, “from inside or outside of government, and from any political background, to find solutions to protect Americans from this dangerous epidemic.”

Johnson also said that Ohio — specifically Eastern and Southeastern Ohio — had been hit “particularly hard” by the drug crisis. “There isn’t a day that goes by that I don’t hear or read another heartbreaking story. I look forward to continuing to work with the president and other leaders as we fight this scourge,” he said.

Copyright 2024 The Business Journal, Youngstown, Ohio.