LANCASTER, Pa. -- Heroin addiction is an issue which can affect everyone in Pennsylvania.
It's why Gov. Tom Wolf is making his way around the state to hear more about the problem and how to solve it.
Friday, the governor was in Lancaster, but when he was on the campaign back in 2013,in Cambria County, Wolf asked the people there about their big problems. To Wolf's surprise, the people answered 'heroin addiction.
Addicts come from all walks of life. Recovering addict Jack Pacewicz is the founder ofthe Lancaster County Recovery Alliance. Pacewicz notes that the costs of addiction can affect everyone.
"There is no one in this country, if it’s not directly, because it’s someone in their family or a friend. It’s because they’re affected economically, by the cost of crime, and incarceration and health care," Pacewicz said.
The cost of jail time has skyrocketed since the 1980s.
Compass Mark Chief Strategic Officer David Bender said "so inflation adjusted, we’re going from a $400 million dollars per year budget to a two billion dollar per year budget, not ever counting capital expenditures."
Some believe that money would be better spent on getting addicts treatment rather than putting them in jail.
Lancaster County Drug and Alcohol Commission executive director Rick Kaster said "you can save a lot of money just in the prisons themselves, if you get people clean and sober, and on a recovery path."
Rep. Mike Sturla (D-Lancaster) said "If we can guarantee that funding stream exists, then we can actually save money in the medical system, then that person won’t get admitted to the emergency room ten times, we won’t see the crime involved with it."
Governor Wolf said the cost of heroin addiction to the community is not the only concern.
"I think the ratios are pretty big, and so there might be some specific costs to programs that we want to put into place, but if we want to do it right, we’re going to be saving money and we’re saving lives," Wolf said.
Two words that many expressed at the Lancaster round table session were prevention and treatment, as they hope getting past the stigma of addiction will help people cope with their problems without relying on drugs to do it.
