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Connections

National drug policy expert on gaps in addressing the overdose crisis

Four people sit at a table in a radio talk studio: a man at foreground left has short grey hair and is wearing glasses, a navy suit, a light blue button-down shirt and brown shoes; a man at foreground right has short dark hair and is wearing a blue and white plaid button-down shirt, navy pants, blue polka dot socks and brown shoes; a woman at background left has long red hair and is wearing a brown leopard print cardigan over a black shirt; a woman at background right has long brown hair and is wearing a blue button-down shirt.
George Yeadon
/
WXXI News
(foreground) Rob Kent, (background) Kelly Reed and Lori Drescher on "Connections with Evan Dawson" on Monday, April 28, 2025
A smiling man with short dark hair wearing a blue button-down shirt and a grey blazer. He is holding a pair of eyeglasses. The word "Connections" appears on the left side of the photo in vertical letters.
WXXI News

Addiction specialists across the country say they are concerned about a Trump administration plan to end a Narcan program.

As reported by the New York Times on Friday, the administration's draft budget would terminate a $56 million annual grant program that provides the life-saving drug and training for emergency responders in how to administer it. The plan would not affect how state and local governments obtain Narcan.

Meanwhile, in New York, lawmakers, advocates, and families are putting pressure on state officials to invest more resources in combatting the overdose crisis. In Monroe County alone, there were 95 opioid overdoses within the past month.

Robert Kent is a national drug policy expert and former Biden administration official. He's in Rochester this week for an event at Huther Doyle, but first, he and his fellow guests join us on "Connections" to discuss their recommendations for how to better address the crisis at the local, national, and federal levels.

In studio:

Evan Dawson is the host of "Connections with Evan Dawson." He joined WXXI in January 2014 after working at 13WHAM-TV, where he served as morning news anchor. He was hired as a reporter for 13WHAM-TV in 2003 before being promoted to anchor in 2007.
Megan Mack is the executive producer of "Connections with Evan Dawson" and live/televised engagement programming.
Julie Williams is an associate producer for "Connections with Evan Dawson" and is also the office administrator for radio, news and technology and operations. She started at WXXI in 2019 and has been working on Connections since 2022.