America has lost the "War on Drugs" and needs to find a new strategy to deal with the ever increasing epidemic of heroin and opiate use.

Todd Zimmerman, an adjunct lecturer of History at Lehigh Carbon Community College, realized the current programs and punishments aren't working after watching a 2015 "60 Minutes" report on the misuse and over prescription of pain medications. He is determined to find a way to add or change the weapons used to fight addiction.The "60 Minutes" report detailed how legal pain medication often leads to a drug addiction. Stunned by what he heard, Zimmerman spoke with his students and discovered the use of heroin has become an epidemic in rural America. That led him to partner with law enforcement officials, representatives in the medical and rehabilitation fields and the parent of a Carbon County teen who died of a drug overdose. The panel held a town meeting in Jim Thorpe in December to discuss ways to fight the epidemic. The goal was to let the public know there is a problem and it's growing rapidly.At the time, Zimmerman vowed to continue the conversation. "It's just the beginning," he said.Zimmerman is keeping that vow by bringing a town-hall meeting on heroin to Tamaqua. The event is scheduled for March 30 in the Tamaqua Middle School Auditorium and will focus more on possible solutions. Those include setting up a database so physicians can better track opiate use and cut down on addicts going from one doctor to another to get their fix; the benefits of establishing drug courts; and providing parents with facts and names of opiate derived prescription drugs. This will allow parents to make better informed decisions if and when their child is prescribed medication after an injury. Zimmerman has prepared a "Dear Parents" letter which he hopes will be distributed to all schools in Schuylkill and Carbon counties.Featured guest speakers will include Dr. Rachel Levine, Pennsylvania's Physician General; Gary Tennis, Pennsylvania's Secretary of Drug and Alcohol Problems; Judge James A. Goodman, Schuylkill County Court of Common Pleas; Judge Joseph Matika, Carbon County Court of Common Pleas, who was also a featured speaker at the Jim Thorpe meeting; and Schuylkill County District Attorney Christine Holman.While Zimmerman knows illegal drug use will never be completely eradicated, he feels properly funded rehabilitation centers and drug education programs in schools will be useful weapons in the fight. "We need to keep this issue at the forefront so addicts, friends and family members know where they can turn."The town hall will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. The auditorium is located at 502 Penn St. in Tamaqua, between the Tamaqua Senior High and the Tamaqua Middle Schools.