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Regional Summit On Heroin Abuse Focuses On Western Md.

HAGERSTOWN, Md. (AP) -- Maryland Lt. Gov. Boyd Rutherford is bringing a task force on heroin abuse to western Maryland.

The meeting Monday in Hagerstown is the fourth regional summit of the Maryland Heroin and Opioid Emergency Task Force.

Elected officials and law enforcement leaders from the state's four western counties have been invited to attend.

Rutherford is leading Gov. Larry Hogan's initiative to address the rising rate of fatal overdoses in Maryland.

In February, the Republican governor laid out plans to tackle drug abuse, calling it an emergency situation. The initiative includes the task force and a $500,000 federal grant to expand re-entry programs for ex-prisoners.

(Copyright 2015 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)

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