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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp was in Jamestown Tuesday to discuss the challenges facing communities across the state on the opioid abuse epidemic in North Dakota.

Leaders in both Fargo and Jamestown discussed which policies and practices that have been most effective in beating addiction and overcoming abuse for individual and families in those communities. Leaders also spoke for better support to help each community address a severe lack of resources for law enforcement and treatment professionals and programs.

Heitkamp underscored how her bill, which she unveiled during a discussion with Bismarck leaders in May, would make sure the federal government is treating opioid abuse as the national public health and law enforcement crisis that it is by making available the appropriate education, prevention, and treatment resources communities need to recover and fight back.

Across North Dakota, opioid-induced fatalities increased by 125 percent from 2013 to 2014 alone according to the Centers for Disease Control.

“Across our state, too many lives and families have been ripped apart by opioid addiction and abuse – and to really fight this problem head-on, we need all hands on deck,” said Heitkamp. “That’s why I gathered leaders and experts from across the treatment and enforcement spectrum in Fargo and Jamestown today to make sure our communities are mounting the best possible defense across the state. And that means tackling opioid abuse by strengthening law enforcement, expanding best recovery practices, and identifying holes that still exist in our community infrastructure. In the Senate, I’ve been working to achieve the real results families need – and helping pass legislation to expand existing tools was a good step, but it’s not enough. North Dakotans I spoke with who on the front lines of this crisis in Fargo and Jamestown know we need the new, robust resources my bill would help provide, and I’ll keep working to bring all sides together to deliver the support our communities desperately need.”