MONTPELIER, Vt. — Vermont’s governor has vetoed a bill that would have allowed the creation of a pilot overdose prevention center in the state’s largest city of Burlington, includingGov. Phil Scott, a Republican, wrote in a letter to lawmakers on Thursday that while such sites are well-intentioned “this costly experiment will divert financial resources from proven prevention, treatment and recovery strategies.”to drug use — would have allocated $1.
The center would have provided referrals to addiction treatment as well as medical and social services. It would also have offered education about overdose prevention and distributed overdose reversal medications.Fewer US overdose deaths were reported last year, but experts are still cautiousSenate President Pro Tem Phil Baruth, a Democrat, said a statement on Thursday that “the dramatic rise in fatal overdoses over the past ten years is one of the most pressing crises facing our state.
He said overdose prevention centers save lives, connect people to treatment while reducing pressures on emergency departments and Emergency Medical Services and decreasing drug consumption in public.