Danbury workshop focuses on 'epidemic' of prescription drug overdoses

News-Times (Danbury, CT) October 9, 2011


"Western Connecticut State University president James Schmotter told a story to 120 medical professionals on campus, reinforcing their need to be there.
'Three days after Hurricane Irene, we would have lost a young man to a prescription drug overdose if a police officer hadn't intervened,' Schmotter said at the start of a workshop Thursday night on prescription drug abuse that focused on opioids like Vicodin, Percocet, Oxycontin and Lortab.
'The point is that these are not evil drugs. They have a place,' said Elizabeth Jorgensen, of Insight Counseling in Ridgefield, who helped coordinate the program. 'But we're in the middle of an epidemic and people don't understand it. That's why we organized the workshop -- to get the word out.'" Read More