The Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force is bringing law enforcement together with the medical community and substance abuse experts to track trends in the opiate epidemic within the county.
December 23, 2015 - Wicked Local Plymouth/Old Colony Memorial
This is the final part in our series on drug issues at the Plymouth County jail.
PLYMOUTH – Treatment programs at the Plymouth County Correctional Center work at breaking the cycle of addiction and preparing inmates for their return to society.
It would be better for everyone, of course, if the men could have gotten the same help before they landed behind bars.
As the drug epidemic tightens its hold on the region, Plymouth County Sheriff Joseph McDonald and District Attorney Timothy Cruz are leading efforts to do just that.
The Plymouth County Drug Abuse Task Force chaired by the sheriff and the district attorney is bringing law enforcement together with the medical community and substance abuse experts to track trends in the opiate epidemic across the county.
The group also seeks to provide ongoing support to community coalitions, using its research and data to secure funding for public treatment of those in need.
The task force includes Bridgewater State University President Fred Clark, Plymouth Police Chief Michael Botieri, BID-Plymouth hospital CEO Peter Holden, Signature Healthcare Brockton Hospital Dr. Dan Muse, state Sen. Vinny deMacedo (R-Plymouth), state Rep. Garrett Bradley (D-Hingham) and Ed Jacoubs, director of grants for the district attorney.
The task force formed in October and meets monthly as a regional resource for the fight against the opiate crisis.
McDonald, who served on the governor’s opiate task force, said his working group complements the governor's effort on the state level by looking within Plymouth County communities and seeing what is working locally.
"This is going to be a vehicle to drive the implementation of recommendations from the governor’s task force, and I think a lot of great ideas are going to come from people on the ground, in the community, seeing things in front of them,” McDonald said.
“The good thing about it is it saves our local municipalities from jumping through hoops and duplicating efforts for grant money,” McDonald said.