The Democratic-controlled Vermont Legislature passed a law Monday that allows for the creation of a pilot overdose prevention center in the state's biggest city, Burlington, overriding a veto by the state's Republican governor, Phil Scott. The law allocates $1.1 million for the creation of a center, including a safe injection site where people can use narcotics under the supervision of trained staff and be revived if they take too much.
The money will go to the state Department of Health to award grants to Burlington to establish such a center. It will come from the Opioid Abatement Special Fund, which is made up of Vermont’s share of a national settlement with drug manufacturers and distribution companies. “The data is clear.
Overdose prevention centers save lives, connect people to treatment, reduce pressures on emergency rooms and Emergency Medical Services, and reduce public drug consumption and discarded supplies in our communities,” Senate President Pro Tem Philip Baruth said in a statement. The center will provide referrals to addiction treatment as well as medical and social services. It also will offer education about overdose prevention and distributed overdose reversal medications.
Two years ago, the first sanctioned overdose prevention centers in New York City opened, according to the Drug Policy Alliance. Rhode Island is expected to open one in Providence this summer. The vote came after Legislature reconvened Monday to try to override Scott’s vetoes of s.
