Utah Laws Addressing Drug Overdose Epidemic Go Into Effect

KUER 90.1 | By Andrea Smardon

Published May 12, 2016 at 7:03 PM MDT

Jennifer and Sam Plumb talk about Utah Naloxone and the effort to prevent drug overdose deaths at the Utah Capitol. (September 1, 2015)

This week several laws went into effect intended to address Utah’s addiction to pain pills and opioids. Lawmakers this year approved legislation that will allow for the creation of a needle exchange and for anyone to distribute a drug overdose antidote called Naloxone. KUER's Andrea Smardon talks with Sam Plumb, whose brother died of a heroin overdose. Plumb and his sister Jennifer together started an organization last year called Utah Naloxone at University of Utah Health Care.

Tags

Andrea Smardon

Andrea Smardon is new at KUER, but she has worked in public broadcasting for more than a decade. Most recently, she worked as a reporter and news announcer for WGBH radio. While in Boston, she produced stories for Morning Edition, Marketplace Money, and The World. Her print work was published in The Boston Globe and Boston.com. Prior to that, she worked at Seattleââ

See stories by Andrea Smardon