this week, we're joined with u-s attorney for the northern district of iowa, kevin techau. we're talking about the eastern iowa heroin iniative. how did this come across your desk? desk? if you look across the usa, in the northest and ohio, there is an opioid heroin crisis. the nubmer of deaths has qualrupled in the last seven years. we're at a point in iowa where we're starting to get out ahead of it. it.where has been effected? effected? the st louis area, madison and chicago. chicago. what is there to learn from these other communities? communities? a good wya to look at any problem that has a public health connection is evidence based. we know in other places, over prescription of opioids caused more poeple to go to heroin. 3/4 of heroin opioids. they start will pills and when that becomes too expensive. they go to heroin. heroin. how bad is this in iowa? iowa? a good way to measure it is nationally. car crashses has been teh #1 cause of deaths for years, drug overdoses has far surpassed it. massachusetts had well over a thousand and happen quickly. quickly.what makes t

abuse.u-s attorney kevin techau says it carried a similar stigma as crack houses other drugs couldn't imagine themselves resorting to heroin. techau also says that's changed recently and the way those addicts are treated should change too.one of the best examples of that is how this conversation has permeated the 2016 campaign trail -- specifically in a story that chris christie told that went viral about his friend from law school addicted to percoset -- which is an opioid. "by every measure that we define success in this country, this guy had it. he's a drug addict and he couldn't get help and he's dead. and when i sat there as the governor of new jersey at his funeral and looked across the pew at his three daughters sobbing because their father is gone, there there but for the grace of god, go it. it happen to anyone and so we need to start treating people in this country, not jailing them." the game changed in the 1990's when medical professionals made a consicous shift in how patients.they became much more likely to prescribe very powerful medicines to increase the quality of lif

kevin techau is the us attorney spearheading the eastern iowa heroin initiative kevin techauus attorney, had vomiting, shakes, and chills. >>reporter: the medical community did whatever it took to manage his pain. >> we know last year the number of opioids was one pill bottle for one person. >>reporter: jeremy got cleanup relapse. >>reporter: the solution they prescribe medication to. it means a law enforcement cocounity when people like janet push through the painful memories. >> i feel like if you hadn't been through it you don't know. >> the experts say it's the heroin overdoses that are responsible for killing people. don't under estimate the danger of the pills. half oothe children they deal with who have heroin aictions started in their parents medicine cabinets. >> kevin, thank you. they are thinking about passing they will legalize narcan. this provides people with a second chance before it's too late. civil rights groups are pushing law groups to reform iowa ocean criminal gustatism. and expand opportunities for people with criminal history opportunities. >>> there is a standof

the u-s attorney kevin techau will join local law enforcement in leading the talk. some republican lawmakers in iowa are supporting an expansion of the state's cannabis oil law. house commerce committee chairman peter crownie says he wants a law that creates a whole system for medical marijuana in iowa. right now, iowa law allows patients with severe epilepsy use cannabis oil. but you can't buy it, produce it or transport it in the state. the new legislation would allow more products and patients, but it still would prohibit smoking marijuana for medical purposes. it's unclear what support this bill will get from party leaders. a former iowa governor is getting involved in the opposition to the state's push to shift medicaid patients to managed care companies. chet culver hosted 2 medicaid town-hall meetings in eastern iowa yesterday he said he's disappointed to see how politics playing such a large role in the decision. "this is not a partisan issue. this needs to be about public policy for decades in this state, it's not been a partisan issue" the former governor

the u-s attorney kevin techau will join local law enforcement in leading the talk. some republican lawmakers in iowa are supporting an expansion of the state's cannabis oil law. house commerce committee chairman peter crownie says he wants a law that creates a whole system for medical marijuana in iowa. right now, iowa law allows patients with severe epilepsy use cannabis oil. but you can't buy it, produce it or transport it in the state. the new legislation would allow more products and patients, but it still would prohibit smoking marijuana for this bill will get from party leaders. a former iowa governor is getting involved in the opposition to the state's push to shift medicaid patients to managed care companies. chet culver hosted 2 medicaid town-hall meetings in eastern iowa yesterday he said he's disappointed to see how politics is playing such a large role in the decision. "this is not a partisan issue. this needs to be about public policy for decades in this state, it's not been a partisan issue" the former governor told people to contact their representati

kevin techau is the us attorney spearheading the eastern iowa heroin initiative we know that last year, across the united states, the number of opioids that were prescribed was enough for one pill bottle for every adult in the united states. the united states' use of opioids is off the charts compared to the rest of the world. jeremey even got clean -- before another injury got him hooked again.while he was battling again -- jeremy took his own life. in the law enforcement community we know we can't arrest our way out of this problem. it really needs a 360 degree multifaceted approach techau says the solution involves doctors who are more aware of who they prescribe medication to -- putting fewer powerful pills into the community - eventually pushing abusers to heroin when the prescriptions run out. but it also means a law enforcement community committed to help -- and people like janet -- pushing through the painful memories -- to share a painful warning. i feel like maybe if you haven't been through it heroin is what ultimately kills many addicts -- but the us attorney's office says