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Montana and Canada team up to tackle opioid problem

Posted at 10:55 AM, Mar 20, 2019
and last updated 2019-03-20 12:55:37-04

HELENA – As an opioid crisis grips the nation, state leaders hope that sharing strategies and information with neighbors to the north will help ease the problem.

On Tuesday, Governor Steve Bullock, Montana Attorney General Tim Fox and other state leaders joined the Consul General of Canada in Denver for a convention held at Carroll College to discuss best practices and approaches to the opioid problem.

Experts from the U.S. and Canada attended the day-long convention and discussed the situation in both countries and what can be done to prevent opioid abuse.

Attorney General Fox pointed to recent successes including bills in the state legislature and a lawsuit his office launched against Purdue Pharma, the maker of OxyContin.

Consul General of Canada in Denver Stéphane Lessard said Montana and Canada can work together because of the proximity.

“A lot of Montanans move up to visit Canada. It’s family. This is our friendships. Our migrations. How we settled this part of North America together. So, to us it’s more than important – it’s personal.”

130 people registered for the conference, which wrapped up Tuesday evening.

-Reported by Jacob Fuhrer/MTN News