Yesterday, the Vermont Senate passed H.72, which permits an overdose prevention center (OPC) to operate in one municipality in the state, provided the municipality approves. The mayor and city council of Burlington, Vermont's largest city, have already signaled that they support this proven harm reduction strategy. In a Cato briefing paper last year, I reported that OPCs have been preventing overdose deaths and the spread of infections for more than 40 years. In 2023, there were 147 OPCs operating in 91 communities and 16 countries. Two have been saving lives in New York City since December 2021 and had reversed more than 1,000 overdoses by the summer of 2023. Rhode Island lawmakers approved OPCs in 2022; its first one is about to open in Providence.
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