"It's never been more fatal than it is now," says Joy Pendola, Chief Clinical Officer at the McCall Center for Behavioral Health.
Pendola and other clinicians held an emotional discussion Tuesday to call on the federal government to do much more to address drug overdoses, given the deadly and widespread impact of fentanyl.
More than 100,000 Americans died of overdoses last year. Of the 1,500 who died in Connecticut, 86% of the cases involved the dangerously powerful painkiller.
They say the stigma of addiction is one reason the U.S. has not invested enough in harm reduction centers, sites for safe usage and the expanded availability of Narcan, a drug used to treat overdoses.
The panel met with Sen. Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) at McCall Renato Outpatient Services in Waterbury. Listen here: