CINCINNATI (AP) — Ohio’s opioid epidemic will be a prime topic for the first meeting of an organization for pain doctors.

The Ohio Society of Interventional Pain Physicians expects hundreds of medical professionals to take part in the gathering that will begin Friday in Cincinnati as they focus on pain management topics.

Among the speakers are journalist Sam Quinones, whose book “Dreamland: The True Tale of America’s Opiate Epidemic” covers the spread of painkiller “pill mills” in Portsmouth, Ohio.

Also speaking will be Dr. Kent Harshbarger, the Montgomery County coroner whose caseload has seen a dramatic increase in opioid overdoses.

Ohio has been one of the states hardest-hit by overdose deaths from heroin and other opioids.