Officials call for stronger efforts to combat heroin, opioid analgesic abuse

Government officials testifying at a hearing of the Senate Judiciary Committee on Wednesday called for stronger efforts to combat heroin and opioid analgesic addiction. Governors, senators, and law-enforcement officials called for more federal funding, wider access to substance-abuse treatment, and stricter rules for opioid analgesic prescribing to fight the main driver of soaring drug overdose rates. More than 47,000 Americans died of drug overdoses in 2014—about 1.5 times as many as died in car crashes, according to CDC.