AG Campbell to highlight substance abuse crisis

the opioid crisis continues to impact western Massachusetts 22 News reporter Claire Overton is live in studio with which state official is making a visit to our area to address this issue taylor and Julia massachusetts Attorney General Andrea Campbell will be up in Franklin County this morning to hear from local organizations about how they're fighting substance abuse according to the CDC rates of drug overdose deaths in rural areas are rising and have surpassed rates in urban areas campbell will be visiting Greenfield where in the year of 2023 there were 28 substance related deaths for every 100,000 residents and also the age adjusted rate which makes a comparison between the populations that have varying ages is staggeringly higher in Greenfield it is just about double of all of Franklin County in the span of one year over 450 individuals in Greenfield admitted themselves to the Bureau of Substance Abuse Services but the average distance they had to travel was 20 miles which creates a huge issue for those without transportation 22 News spoke with the Behavioral Health Network who will be meeting with the attorney general today and they say access to clinics in rural areas along with transportation are two of the biggest issues the 22 News I team recently covered the fentanyl crisis in Holio and in the next half hour I'll have what they found working for you live in studio Claire Overton 22 News