Harvard University is convening four former governors at a forum to discuss their states’ experiences grappling with the opioid addiction crisis and the impacts of actions being taken in Washington.
Harvard University is convening four former governors at a forum to discuss their states’ experiences grappling with the opioid addiction crisis and the impacts of actions being taken in Washington.
The panel discussion Friday features Ted Strickland of Ohio, Linda Lingle of Hawaii, Jay Nixon of Missouri and Steven Beshear of Kentucky. Beshear is the school’s Menschel senior fellow at Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health this year.
Expected topics include prescription drug monitoring programs, treatment vouchers, use of the addiction antidote naloxone and crackdowns on illegal supply streams.
The governors also will discuss the goals of federal legislation aimed at fighting the epidemic and the role of the Trump administration’s opioid task force.
Lingle, a Republican, was governor of Hawaii from 2002 until 2010. She was a Maui County mayor prior to being elected governor. She was also the first female and first Jewish governor of the 50th state.