Guilford Forum to Address Heroin Crisis in CT and on the Shoreline

In light of the growing opioid and heroin crisis on the shoreline and across Connecticut, State Rep. Sean Scanlon (D-Guilford) will host a community forum on February 23 open to all Guilford residents who wish to learn how the crisis is impacting our town and region and what we can do to combat it.

“In Connecticut, more people will die this year from opioid or heroin overdoses than from car accidents,” said Scanlon in a prepared statement. “Our area and state have seen a dramatic rise in prescription drug and heroin abuse over the last few years. We’re making progress up in Hartford in terms of combating it but, at the end of the day, the best way to fight back is to educate parents and the public and I hope we will have a big turnout next week so people can learn from the experts what we as a community need to do to prevent this problem from getting worse.”

The rise in prescription drug abuse in New England is directly related to a corresponding rise in heroin abuse, experts say.

Once an individual struggling with addiction has trouble securing prescription drugs, the Centers for Disease Control suggests they are forty times more likely to experiment and become addicted to heroin due to it’s similar “high” and it’s lower cost compared to prescription drugs.

In 2015, Scanlon co-sponsored and helped pass a law that addressed the crisis by requiring doctors to take continuing medical education courses on prescribing pain pills and to check a state-run secure database of patient records to ensure that patients were not going from doctor to doctor to secure the same prescription. It also expanded access to the life-saving anti-overdose drug known as Narcan.

The forum will feature a panel discussion followed by Q&A from the audience.

Panelists include:
Dr. Miriam Delphin-Rittman, Commissioner of the Connecticut Department of Mental Health & Addiction Services
Detective Sergeant Tim Bernier, Guilford Police Department
Officer Marilisa Anania, Guilford Police Department
Firefighter/Paramedic John Planas, Guilford Fire Department
Dana Hilmer, Prevention Coordinator for Guilford D.A.Y.
Sue Kruczek, Guilford parent

The forum - which is open to the general public - will be on Tuesday February 23rd from 7-8:30pm in the main room at the Guilford Community Center (32 Church Street). Residents with questions may contact Rep. Scanlon at 860-240-8585 or email him at sean.scanlon@cga.ct.gov.