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4 Northeast States Stand Together Against Heroin

By Michael Virtanen, The Associated Press

ALBANY, N.Y. - Pennsylvania's attorney general says the thriving interstate drug trade is fueling the heroin epidemic plaguing all segments of society, with the drug both cheap and plentiful.

Attorney General Kathleen Kane says it costs as little as $3 to $10 per one-dose bag and in some neighborhoods it's easier for children to get than a pack of cigarettes.

Pennsylvania has joined three other Northeastern states in agreeing to collaborate on investigations of heroin trafficking that often cross state lines.

The others are New York, New Jersey and Massachusetts.

New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman says law enforcement officials from the states will give each other greater access to their drug informants, wiretap evidence and other resources so they can collectively target trafficking networks.

Also Wednesday, the nation's drug czar is going to Maine to lead a town hall discussion on opioid abuse.

Michael Botticelli, acting director of the White House's Office of National Drug Control Policy, is traveling to Bangor for the evening event. He is expected to announce a grant aimed at targeting opioid abuse.

Associated Press writer Tom Hays in New York contributed to this report.