Montgomery Community Media

Changes at a local shopping center and blooming sunflowers topped our Top 10 list this week. We had several public safety stories included the ongoing legal proceedings on Catherine Hoggle’s competency and the sentencing of a man who went on a shooting spree. Construction of a bridge over I-270 got underway. A bridge over the […]

In an effort to raise public awareness of the heroin, opioid and fentanyl crisis in Maryland, the Hogan-Rutherford administration launched a new web portal titled, “Before It’s Too Late.” The new website, BeforeItsTooLateMD.org, is designed to be a one-stop shop for individuals, families, educators and health care professional to obtain the resources they need to […]

Gov. Larry Hogan announced $50 million Wednesday to address the state’s opioid crisis as well as declaring a state of emergency that would activate the governor’s emergency management authority, creating more rapid coordination between state and local jurisdictions. Hogan also appointed his senior emergency management adviser, Clay Stamp, to lead the state’s coordinated effort to […]

Some grim news from the Maryland Department of Health and Mental Hygiene (DHMH): in the first six months of this year, Maryland reported 920 fatal overdoses or 319 more than last year. The report is posted online, here. “We want to make sure Marylanders know that – if they are grappling with substance use disorder […]

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan introduced a bill, on Tuesday, to toughen the state’s existing Prescription Drug Monitoring Program and increase drug trafficking penalties. According to a news release, the legislation is based on recommendations from the governor’s Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force. The legislation would amend the state’s Gang Statute and mirror it after federal […]

From 2000 to 2014 nearly half a million Americans died from drug overdoses. Opioid overdose deaths, including both opioid pain relievers and heroin, hit record levels in 2014, with an alarming 14 percent increase in just one year, according to new data published today in CDC’s Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. The most commonly prescribed […]

Maryland Governor Larry Hogan visited Washington County on Tuesday to announce two grants to combat the state’s heroin and opioid epidemic. Hogan said the state is awarding over $90,000 to the Washington County Sheriff’s Office and $125,000 to the Maryland State Police Department to identify and prosecute drug traffickers, particularly on Interstate 81, which, he […]

Lt. Governor Boyd Rutherford today joined with members of the The Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force, elected officials, law enforcement, and substance abuse advocates for the sixth regional summit to address Maryland’s growing heroin crisis. The summit was held in Silver Spring at the Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center. The Heroin and Opioid Emergency […]