Increased investment by Mayor Rawlings-Blake enables expanded investigations and recovery of more taxpayer dollars.

Beginning today, in an effort spearheaded by Baltimore City Health Commissioner Dr. Leana Wen, the Baltimore City Adult Drug Treatment Court (DTC) will be the first in Maryland to train participants on the use of naloxone while they are in court.  “Overdose deaths are a public health emergency,” said Dr. Wen.  “Last year, more people died from overdose than died from homicide.  The first step to recovery is staying alive. We need to get life-saving naloxone into the hands of people most at risk.” Individuals with a primary drug-related criminal offense are selected to participate in DTC as an alternative to more traditional legal settings.

As an ER doctor, I have treated hundreds of patients who were dying of heroin overdose, and I know that it is a disease that claims lives. As a family member of loved ones who struggled with addiction, I have seen that heroin isn't just an individual disease; it's a family disease. As a public health official in Baltimore, where an estimated 19,000 of our residents use heroin, I have witnessed how heroin ties into the very fabric of our city; it's a community disease. Read more of Dr. Leana Wen's Baltimore Sun Op-Ed here.