All police officers in Vermont's largest city are now carrying a heroin antidote so they can be ready to counter overdoses, said Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo.The department began equipping its officers with the drug that is administered as a nasal spray after they were trained in its use. Naloxone can counter the effects of heroin and other opiate drugs.The chief said that since arriving in Burlington in September he's seen that opiate addiction is the most serious threat facing Vermonters."Its harmful effects are everywhere and touch everyone," del Pozo said. "The struggle to fully reclaim our state from addiction takes many forms and first responders carrying naloxone is one of them."Naloxone is carried by a number of public safety agencies, including the Vermont State Police, and it is generally available to addicts, their friends and family. Since the state began distributing naloxone broadly two years ago, the antidote has been credited with reversing hundreds of overdoses, although there is no clear indication of how many lives it has saved.The increase in the abuse of heroin and other opiate drugs in Vermont has been labeled a crisis by state officials. Last month state officials blamed opiates for a 40-percent increase in two years in the number of children in state custody, prompting the state to call for the hiring of 35 new social workers.

All police officers in Vermont's largest city are now carrying a heroin antidote so they can be ready to counter overdoses, said Burlington Police Chief Brandon del Pozo.

The department began equipping its officers with the drug that is administered as a nasal spray after they were trained in its use. Naloxone can counter the effects of heroin and other opiate drugs.


The chief said that since arriving in Burlington in September he's seen that opiate addiction is the most serious threat facing Vermonters.

"Its harmful effects are everywhere and touch everyone," del Pozo said. "The struggle to fully reclaim our state from addiction takes many forms and first responders carrying naloxone is one of them."

Naloxone is carried by a number of public safety agencies, including the Vermont State Police, and it is generally available to addicts, their friends and family. Since the state began distributing naloxone broadly two years ago, the antidote has been credited with reversing hundreds of overdoses, although there is no clear indication of how many lives it has saved.

The increase in the abuse of heroin and other opiate drugs in Vermont has been labeled a crisis by state officials. Last month state officials blamed opiates for a 40-percent increase in two years in the number of children in state custody, prompting the state to call for the hiring of 35 new social workers.