The Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA) just sent out a warning that heroin is being laced with illicit fentanyl. This combination is responsible for the recent spike in overdose deaths. Even the smallest amount of fentanyl can be lethal, since it is 30-50 times more powerful than heroin. 

This is a public health emergency. 

It is extremely urgent that all Connecticut leaders make sure that naloxone is widely distributed and quickly. Naloxone reverses opioid overdoses. EMTs and State Police are carrying naloxone but very few local police are. All family members and close friends of opioid users should have it on hand, as they are the often the first to find a loved one who is dying. Doctors need to prescribe it to anyone who asks and pharmacies need to carry it to increase accessibility. 

People who need treatment for opioid or any drug addiction cannot get it if they are dead. People can recover from opioid dependency; we can help keep them alive so they have a chance to recover. 

Please save lives and do whatever is necessary to get naloxone widely distributed. Now.

Karen Fischer

New London