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<p>WILKES-BARRE &#8212; Attorney General Josh Shapiro made it clear Wednesday that the fight against opioid addiction goes beyond the street corner, beyond the physician&#8217;s office and into the board rooms of pharmaceutical companies.</p><p>Shapiro was the keynote speaker at the day-long Opioid Crisis Solutions Symposium, sponsored by AllOne Foundation and hosted by King&#8217;s College. The event focused on solutions to the opioid crisis through education, prevention, treatment and recovery.</p><p>&#8220;Opioid addiction is the number one threat to public safety and it&#8217;s the number one threat to our health,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;It knows no municipal bounds &#8212; it touches the lives of nearly every single resident of this Commonwealth.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro said the crisis especially problematic in rural areas where law enforcement presence is weak.</p><p>&#8220;We must assure that we have a strong, robust law enforcement response throughout the state,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;We have to stop this poison that is killing our children, our seniors and our veterans.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro said the issue has to be attacked on all fronts.</p><p>&#8220;We can&#8217;t stop at the street corners,&#8221; he said. &#8220;We have to go to the doctors&#8217; offices and to the board rooms of the pharmaceutical companies, who we will hold accountable.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro cited the case against Purdue Pharma. In September, Shapiro filed a suit against the Sackler family, owners of Purdue Pharma, for their role in the nation&#8217;s opioid crisis.</p><p>&#8220;On behalf of the people of PA, I&#8217;ve filed suit against the Sackler family,&#8221; Shapiro said in September. &#8220;These billionaires pumped opioids into all the PA doctor&#8217;s offices, pharmacies, and medicine cabinets they could. They engineered an epidemic. It&#8217;s time they take some responsibility.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro called the settlement &#8220;a slap in the face to everyone who has had to bury a loved one due to this family&#8217;s destruction and greed.&#8221;</p><p>&#8220;It allows the Sackler family to walk away billionaires and admit no wrongdoing,: he said</p><p>Shapiro reiterated his disdain for Purdue Pharma at Wednesday&#8217;s symposium.</p><p>&#8220;I&#8217;m tired of their B.S.,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;That&#8217;s why I&#8217;ve sued the Sackler family. We will reach into their billionaire pockets. No pharmaceutical company will get off scot-free.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro said the opioid crisis claims the lives of 12 Pennsylvanians a day &#8212; a number that has declined in the past couple of years from 15 per day.</p><p>And Shapiro said he realizes his office can&#8217;t arrest its way out of the opioid problem. He said treatment programs need to be utilized and law enforcement will assist in getting people in need the help they require.</p><p>&#8220;People who need help will get it,&#8221; Shapiro said. &#8220;We also need compassion and understanding.&#8221;</p><p>Shapiro said law enforcement can&#8217;t fight the problem by itself. He called on all segments of the community to get involved and work together.</p><p>&#8220;It&#8217;s incumbent upon all of us to do our part,&#8221; he said. &#8220;There are many fronts to fight in this battle. It will take a massive effort. And we are making progress, but we must remain vigilant.&#8221;</p><p>Wednesday&#8217;s event was presented by AllOne Foundation, in partnership with The Wright Center, Treatment Court Advocacy Center, Luzerne County Community College (LCCC), Children&#8217;s Service Center, PA AHEC, Geisinger, Highmark, AllOne Health Resources and McCarthy Tire.</p><p><strong>About AllOne Foundation</strong></p><p>AllOne Foundation mission is to make a real and substantive impact on the health and welfare of the people of Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania by improving access, affordability and quality of healthcare.</p><p>AllOne Foundation vision is to work with others or independently to enhance the present healthcare delivery system of Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania and to be innovative, creative and collaborative in crafting new ways of improving the health and welfare of the people of Northeastern and North Central Pennsylvania.</p><style>
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<div class="neCaption">Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks at the AllOne Opioid Symposium at King&#8217;s College on Wednesday. </div></div><div class="metaInfo"><photo0>https://www.timesleader.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/web1_TTL100319Opioid3-1-.jpg</photo0><caption0>Attorney General Josh Shapiro speaks at the AllOne Opioid Symposium at King&#8217;s College on Wednesday. </caption0><photoCredit0></photoCredit0></div></div>
<div class="metaInfo"><bylineMeta><p>By Bill O&#8217;Boyle</p><p>boboyle@www.timesleader.com</p></bylineMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><factboxMeta><p><strong>READ MORE</strong></p><p>Deputy health secretary speaks at opioid event, <strong>5A</strong></p></factboxMeta></div><div class="metaInfo"><shirttailMeta><p>Reach Bill O&#8217;Boyle at 570-991-6118 or on Twitter @TLBillOBoyle.</p></shirttailMeta></div>

Shapiro: Opioid crisis main threat to public safety, health