Governor Larry Hogan outlined his plan to fight the increasing number of heroin overdose deaths.
Hogan’s concern is also personal with the death of his own cousin to a heroin overdose a few years ago.
The Republican governor will be setting up a council and a separate special taskforce to deal with the problem.
They are to meet regularly and get advice from educators, families and others in the community.
In addition, he announced that a $500-thousand federal grant will be used to expand re-entry programs to help those leaving prison from returning to the use of the drug.
Hogan said that between 2010 and 2013 Maryland had a 95 percent rise in the number of heroin-related overdose deaths.
Maryland has received a donation of around 5-thousand doses of an overdose antidote for heroin from a pharmaceutical company.
