[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 51 (Thursday, March 23, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Page S1969]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                        TRIBUTE TO DOUG GRIFFIN

 Ms. HASSAN. Mr. President, today I wish to ask my colleagues 
to join me in recognizing and congratulating Doug Griffin of Newton, 
NH, for being named an ``Advocate of the Year'' by the Addiction Policy 
Forum. After Mr. Griffin lost his daughter Courtney to an opioid 
overdose in September 2014, he became a passionate advocate, determined 
to increase awareness of the opioid epidemic in the State of New 
Hampshire. Granite Staters and Americans impacted by this urgent crisis 
owe him a debt of gratitude for his work, and I am grateful that the 
Addiction Policy Forum has honored him with this distinction.
  Mr. Griffin has been a leader in calling for easier access to 
naloxone, Narcan, for families at risk of an overdose, even testifying 
on the issue before the New Hampshire State Legislature. My colleagues 
in the U.S. Senate remember Mr. Griffin from his testimony on the rise 
of opioid-related deaths and the importance of passing the 
Comprehensive Addiction and Recovery Act last year. In addition to his 
role as cochair of the Addiction Policy Forum's families committee, Mr. 
Griffin has spearheaded several local efforts in the Granite State, 
including hosting a monthly church service for people with substance 
use disorders and their families, a club for young students to raise 
awareness of the dangers of opioids, and a project to create a farm-
based sober living facility for those in recovery.
  New Hampshire has benefited greatly from Mr. Griffin's devotion and 
leadership. On behalf of my colleagues and the U.S. Congress, I thank 
Mr. Griffin for all the advocacy work he has done and continues to do. 
I congratulate him again on being named one of the Addiction Policy 
Forum's ``Advocates of the Year''.

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