Vermont Business Magazine Please join Mayor Weinberger and the Burlington Police Department Tuesday evening for a community conversation to discuss Burlington's recent progress in our fight against the opioid epidemic – and where we go from here. Burlington has begun to begun to make significant and hopeful progress in our fight against this epidemic: In 2018, opioid-related overdose fatalities declined by 50 percent in Chittenden County, even as they continued to rise in the rest of the state. While we are heartened by this news, we know that our work is far from done.
This Town Hall Meeting will feature three of the country's leading experts on this topic:
- Gil Kerlikowske, who served as America's "Drug Czar" under President Obama from 2009-2014, and then as the head of U.S. Customs and Border Patrol from 2013-2016; few people have more experience with the opioid crisis nationally, as well as its intersection with law enforcement and border concerns;
- Fred Ryan, former Chief of Police of Arlington, Massachusetts and a nationally-recognized leader in the ways in which small and mid-sized police departments can play a role in addiction and recovery initiatives; and
- Dr. Josh Sharfstein, a national expert whose extensive resume includes current positions as Vice Dean and Professor at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and Director of the Bloomberg American Health Initiative. Dr. Sharfstein is also co-author of the forthcoming book, "The Opioid Epidemic: What Everyone Needs to Know.
In the second part of the meeting, the Mayor and national guests will be joined by a panel of local partners to talk about Burlington's response to the crisis and what's ahead. There will also be time for questions and discussion with attendees.