Dear Friends,
I was honored to be nominated by House leadership to join a national overdose prevention and response working group focused on strengthening state policies to save lives, improve public health outcomes, and address the evolving drug crisis facing communities across the country. Last week marked my first meeting with a group of 42 legislators and policy staff from across the nation who are deeply engaged in this work.
I bring a unique perspective to these conversations both through my family’s experience with addiction and through my lifelong familiarity with the legitimate agricultural and veterinary uses of medications like xylazine and medetomidine that are now increasingly contaminating the illicit drug supply. Many of the elected officials I met entered this work because they had lost family to the opioid epidemic or had loved ones in active recovery. The conversations were deeply personal, but also intensely focused on practical, evidence-based solutions that can save lives while supporting families and communities impacted by substance use disorder.
Sessions throughout the seminar examined the full continuum of overdose prevention and recovery policy. Experts discussed current overdose trends and the growing impact of fentanyl and emerging contaminants in the illicit drug supply, evidence-based public health strategies such as naloxone distribution and community outreach, and how emergency medical services are evolving from emergency responders into long-term recovery partners. Additional panels focused on prevention programs for young people through after-school and summer learning initiatives, law enforcement partnerships that connect overdose survivors to treatment and recovery services, expanding clinician education through programs like Project ECHO, improving access to substance use disorder treatment through Medicaid and commercial insurance coverage, and how states can better use overdose data and opioid settlement funds to target resources and strengthen long-term recovery infrastructure.
The opioid settlement funds resulting from litigation against opioid manufacturers, distributors, and pharmacies create a once-in-a-generation opportunity to strengthen addiction treatment, recovery supports, prevention programs, workforce development, and overdose response systems. These dollars must be used strategically and transparently for long-term, evidence-based investments rather than short-term fixes or unrelated budget gaps. Discussions focused on ensuring strong stewardship of settlement funds, measuring outcomes, supporting sustainable community infrastructure, and prioritizing programs that demonstrably reduce overdose deaths and improve recovery outcomes.
The seminar discussions also focused on innovative state approaches to overdose prevention, treatment, recovery supports, harm reduction, and the role legislatures can play in building stronger systems to respond to substance use disorder.
Pennsylvania has made significant progress in recent years, but the challenges continue to evolve rapidly. I was particularly impressed with the work the City of Philadelphia is doing through a door-to-door campaign to educate residents. In 2023, Philadelphia’s Overdose Response Unit created a multi-agency Citywide Outreach and Engagement workgroup to better understand why lifesaving resources were not reaching all communities experiencing rising overdose deaths. Using overdose data, ZIP code mapping, and guidance from individuals with lived experience, the group identified significant gaps in outreach beyond traditionally targeted areas like Kensington.
Their work emphasized that overdose prevention resources, including naloxone, test strips, treatment information, and recovery supports, must be distributed broadly, proactively, and without stigma, judgment, or barriers to access. They are literally going door to door in the hardest hit communities handing out resource packets to save lives. The conversation around inequities in access to care across communities reinforces the importance of ensuring every community has equal access to lifesaving tools and treatment opportunities and recognizing barriers that exist.
The opioid epidemic was first declared a national public health emergency in 2017, and throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, overdose deaths surged nationwide due to fentanyl, methamphetamine, cocaine, and increasingly dangerous synthetic substances entering the illicit drug supply.
Here in Pennsylvania, there were 4,719 overdose deaths in 2023, with opioids involved in approximately 83% of those deaths. Encouragingly, preliminary data show overdose deaths have continued to decline in both 2024 and 2025, a sign that prevention, treatment, recovery, and harm reduction investments are making a real difference.
Pennsylvania has built one of the more comprehensive overdose prevention infrastructures in the country, including statewide naloxone access, expanded recovery services, community outreach programs, prescription drug monitoring, medication-assisted treatment, and real-time overdose tracking systems. We are moving toward a more coordinated public health response but gaps still exist and as the drugs themselves evolve, we must be proactive in reducing risk.
Recent investments across the Commonwealth have included:
• More than $40 million to retain professionals working in the drug and alcohol treatment field;
• More than $20 million to expand drop-in centers for individuals with substance use disorder;
• Millions more for recovery support services, prevention programs, recovery housing access, and harm reduction initiatives.
Between October 2024 and September 2025 alone, Pennsylvania’s Overdose Prevention Program distributed more than 824,000 naloxone doses and over 922,000 fentanyl and xylazine test strips, with organizations reporting more than 11,000 overdose reversals.
In the legislature, we have also advanced several bipartisan measures aimed at improving overdose response and treatment access.
In the previous and current sessions, I voted for legislation that would:
• Expand overdose mapping and reporting systems to improve real-time public health responses;
• Allow EMS providers to distribute naloxone directly to family members and caregivers after an overdose event;
• Expand medication-assisted treatment for incarcerated individuals and supporting continuity of care upon reentry;
• Classify xylazine as a controlled substance while preserving legitimate veterinary use.
I was also proud to co-sponsor legislation supporting medication-assisted treatment programs for individuals struggling with substance use disorders while incarcerated and transitioning back into the community.
At the seminar, one major topic was the growing threat posed by emerging substances contaminating the illicit drug supply, including medetomidine, which is increasingly being found alongside fentanyl. Medetomidine is 100 to 200 times more potent than xylazine and is now present in more than 70% of Philadelphia’s illicit fentanyl supply. Medical professionals warned that the drug can cause severe withdrawal symptoms, including dangerous spikes in blood pressure and heart rate, tremors, severe nausea, and altered consciousness.
Since medetomidine entered the drug supply, Philadelphia hospitals have seen a dramatic increase in patients seeking emergency treatment for withdrawal. A recent CDC report examining 165 suspected medetomidine withdrawal cases in Philadelphia found that more than 90% of patients required intensive care treatment and nearly one-quarter required intubation. The discussion reinforced how rapidly the overdose crisis continues to evolve and the importance of ensuring public health systems, emergency responders, and treatment providers can quickly adapt to emerging threats.
This week, Representative Greg Scott and I circulated a co-sponsorship memorandum for legislation that would classify medetomidine as a Schedule III controlled substance while preserving an exemption for legitimate veterinary use similar to the approach Pennsylvania took with xylazine in Act 17 of 2024, legislation I proudly co-sponsored.
As a lifelong horseback rider, I have been around medications like xylazine and medetomidine for much of my life and understand their legitimate importance in veterinary medicine. The ability to safely sedate and treat large animals in distress is essential for veterinarians and those working with animals. For cattle and other large animals, xylazine is often the preferred or only safe sedation option available. For equines and dogs, medetomidine comes in a sublingual gel to make it easier for owners to administer.
The legitimate uses for these medications make it critically important that Pennsylvania addresses the growing misuse of these substances in the illicit drug supply without restricting access for veterinarians, and farmers, responsible animal owners using these medications under vet supervision. Particularly as many rural communities already face severe shortages of large animal veterinarians, with some residents located hours away from emergency veterinary care. In addition to the legislation I've introduced with Representative Scott, I will soon be releasing legislation to improve naloxone access.
Substance use disorder affects every community; rural, suburban, and urban alike. It impacts families, workplaces, healthcare systems, first responders, schools, and local economies. Addressing this crisis requires a balanced, evidence-based approach focused on prevention, treatment, recovery, and public safety.
I remain committed to supporting policies that save lives, strengthen families, improve access to care, and build healthier communities across Pennsylvania.
As always, if my office can assist you with any state-related issue, please do not hesitate to reach out.