OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) — Oklahoma's new Attorney General Mike Hunter is working with lawmakers to create a commission to study what he says is a growing problem of prescription painkiller abuse in Oklahoma.
Hunter joined members of the House and Senate on Wednesday to announce legislation to create the Oklahoma Commission on Opioid Abuse. Under the resolution, Hunter would chair the nine-member committee composed of members of the health community, law enforcement and lawmakers.
The panel would be charged with recommending new laws or rules to combat opioid abuse in Oklahoma. Its final report would be due by Dec. 1.
Hunter says more than 2,600 opioid-related deaths have been reported in Oklahoma in the last three years, a number he says is likely much higher.