Fighting the Opioid Crisis

As District Attorney, Powell made combatting the opioid crisis and lowering the number of overdose deaths a top priority of his administration. Since becoming DA. Powell has:

• Instituted aggressive drug enforcement efforts against traffickers and street-level dealers.

• Created a Fresh Start Program to get lower-level offenders into treatment instead of having a criminal record.

• Aggressively investigated every overdose death and prosecuted those responsible for supplying the deadly drugs.

• Investigated and prosecuted pill-pushing doctors.

• Co-chaired the Lackawanna Recovery Coalition, a multidisciplinary community group that provides community awareness, education, treatment, prevention and harm-reduction programs.

• Secured a $900,000 grant from the U.S. Department of Justice to study the root causes of overdose deaths in Lackawanna County and propose effective solutions.

• Instituted an Opioid Education Pilot Program for K-12 students in local school districts.