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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Saying opioid abuse &#8220;is a big, challenging, complicated problem,&#8221; U.S. Sen. Pat Toomey came to Northeastern Pennsylvania Friday to learn from local law enforcement officials.</p><p>Toomey held a roundtable discussion on the topic with district attorneys from Luzerne and Lackawanna counties, police officers from throughout the area and Luzerne County Coroner Bill Lisman.</p><p>&#8220;There is no community in which this doesn&#8217;t come up,&#8221; Toomey, R-Zionsville, told the group gathered at the Luzerne County Courthouse.</p><p>Toomey said he wants to learn from the law enforcement on how the government can assist.</p><p>Officers in the room came to a consensus that, in Northeastern Pennsylvania, the drug fentanyl has contributed to a majority of the drug-related deaths.</p><p><a href="http://www.cdc.gov/drugoverdose/opioids/fentanyl.html" target="_blank">According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention</a>, fentanyl is a synthetic opioid used to treat severe pain. Its effects mirror the effects of heroin.</p><p>From 2013 to 2014, the CDC reported a 500 percent increase in deaths from fentanyl overdoses in the Northeast.</p><p>Lisman said the county has seen 77 drug-related deaths so far this year and he expects about 150 deaths this year due to drugs such as fentanyl. That number is up from 95 deaths in 2015.</p><p>&#8220;Fentanyl is involved in more deaths than heroin,&#8221; Lisman said.</p><p>Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis said fentanyl has become a problem very recently because it is inexpensive to make and drug dealers market it as a stronger form of heroin.</p><p>The problem comes down to addiction, she said.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s a disease,&#8221; Salavantis added. &#8220;And we need to start addressing it.&#8221;</p><p>Toomey blamed the problem on prescription pain killers and how Medicare financially rewards hospitals for managing patients&#8217; pain.</p><p>&#8220;There&#8217;s an explicit financial incentive to prescribe opioids,&#8221; he said.</p><p>Suggestions on how to treat opioid addiction and crime varied from stiffer penalties for dealers to treatment for addicts. Toomey talked about the Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act, which was signed into law by President Barack Obama on July 22. The bill, which Toomey helped write, would keep those with a history of drug abuse from going to multiple doctors and filling multiple prescriptions.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Senator Pat Toomey meets with local law enforcement at the Luzerne Country Courthouse </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_toomy1_faa.jpg</photo0><caption0>Senator Pat Toomey meets with local law enforcement at the Luzerne Country Courthouse </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_toomy3_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salvantis talks with Senator Pat Toomey following a Drug Round Table at the Luzerne County Courthouse Friday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo1>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_toomy3_faa.jpg</photo1><caption1>Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salvantis talks with Senator Pat Toomey following a Drug Round Table at the Luzerne County Courthouse Friday. </caption1><photoCredit1></photoCredit1></div><div class="neFile"><img class="neImage" src="https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_toomy2_faa.jpg">
<div class="neCaption">Senator Pat Toomey talks about polydrugs as Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and Hazleton Police Chief Jerry Speziale look on. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo2>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/07/web1_toomy2_faa.jpg</photo2><caption2>Senator Pat Toomey talks about polydrugs as Luzerne County District Attorney Stefanie Salavantis and Hazleton Police Chief Jerry Speziale look on. </caption2><photoCredit2></photoCredit2></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Brigid Edmunds</p><p>bedmunds@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Brigid Edmunds at 570-991-6119</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Sen. Toomey meets with NEPA officials to discuss opioid issue