TORRINGTON–A deadly epidemic is spreading, and it’s going to take a lot of involvement to kick the very bad habit.
That’s what Sen. Richard Blumenthal hoped to convey at a roundtable discussion in Torrington about addictions to heroin and other opiates.
Blumenthal asked state law enforcement leaders and treatment specialists what more the federal government could do.
According to the senator’s office, there were 195 deadly heroin, morphine or codeine overdoses in the state in 2012. Just two years later, that figure jumped significantly to 347.
In just the last three weeks in Torrington two people died from heroin overdoses.
“This is an addiction that has a high rate of relapse, and trying to get ahead of that is a real challenge for us in the Northwest corner,” Mayor Elinor Carbone said.
Blumenthal plans to hold several more roundtable discussions around the state.
