AAC


State Drug Director Kirk Lane If we fail, we will be the first genera- tion that has not left a better place for the next generation. It is so urgent that we stop the carnage — and together we can do just that.


COVER STORY


AAC Executive Director Chris Villines Arkansas is taking the brunt of this problem hard. Each year we lose over 400 people in our state to fatal overdoses. Tis number has increased nearly 300 percent since 2000 and coincides with opioid sales quadrupling in Arkansas over the same period.


Arkansas Municipal League Director Don Zimmerman A sta- tistic that struck me the other day was given at the National League of Cities meeting. Tey said that 84 percent of the world’s opioid usage is in the Unit- ed States, and we have only 3 percent of the world’s population.


Little Rock Mayor Mark Stodola Tere’s been a lot of statistics that have been passed around. Te most important statistic has to do with our children. ... Arkansas ranks first in the nation for ages 12 through 17 in the misuse of painkillers.


Baxter County Sheriff John Montgomery Every one of my colleagues across this great state is having to deal with this crisis every single day. Our prisons and our jails are full. Good people are getting caught up in criminal activity after becoming addicted.


Trumann Police Chief Chad Henson In the past, we law enforcement have been the ones to go out and fight crime and put people in jail. Today, the men and women behind me are having to divert their time and money to combat the consequences that accompany addiction, including violence, petty crimes and child neglect.


COUNTY LINES, SPRING 2018 31


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