Legislative panel studying opioid abuse plans final meeting this week

ATLANTA (AP) A committee studying opioid abuse in Georgia plans a final meeting this week ahead of the 2017 legislative session.

The group is set to discuss its final report on Thursday morning at the Capitol in Atlanta. The panel of state senators, medical providers and public health officials began meeting in September to learn more about abuse and addiction's effects in Georgia.

Meetings included a focus on how law enforcement and the courts are handling abuse and the effect it has on health care, the foster care system and treatment centers.

According to the Centers for Disease Control, about 1,200 people overdosed on drugs in Georgia in 2014, a 10 percent increase from 2013. Gov. Nathan Deal recently ordered changes allowing pharmacists to dispense an overdose-versing drug without a prescription.