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Sen. Markey To Discuss Drug Abuse Crisis In Mass.

U.S. Sen. Edward Markey is planning to join Congressman Richard Neal and Holyoke Mayor Alex Morse to discuss heroin and prescription drug abuse in western Massachusetts.

Markey is planning to speak on what he's calling the drug abuse crisis at a noon press conference Friday at the Holyoke Health Center.

Markey is calling for expanding the use of drug treatments to prevent opiate overdose deaths and for mobilizing federal funding to expand detox treatment.

On Thursday, Markey introduced legislation in the Senate designed to protect individuals who administer lifesaving opioid overdose prevention drugs from lawsuits.

Markey said the willingness of medical and non-medical personnel to administer the overdose drugs naloxone - more commonly known by the brand name Narcan - can be deterred by the fear of potential civil liability.

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