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Vermont House legislators overwhelmingly passed an overdose prevention bill earlier this month. It was in response to new health department data showing an alarming 38 percent increase in overdose deaths across Vermont. Now the Senate should do the same.
But will they?
While three Vermonters are dying of overdose every week and many thousands more are at immediate risk, there are troubling signs that this life-and-death bill may not pass this year based on scheduling issues and tit for tat political infighting.
Although more Vermonters died of overdose than COVID-19 in 2020, there has been no commitment from Senate leadership to act.