Local lawmakers are touting House passage of a bill to increase the penalty for selling Fentanyl.  Bethel Representative Raghib Allie-Brennan says the measure amends the definition of narcotic substances to classify Fentanyl and Fentanyl derivatives as a narcotic. 

Allie-Brennan is a board member of The HERO Project in Bethel where he says he's seen the devastation and tragedy that result from the opioid epidemic.

Allie-Brennan co-sponsored the bill he says will protect communities from opiate use.  The measure now moves to the Senate for further action. 

At a time when opioid-related overdose deaths in Connecticut have climbed 400 percent, Newtown Representative JP Sredzinski is touting the bill which also increase the penalties for its manufacture.  Sredzinski, who also co-sponsored the bill, says more than 70 percent of opioid-related deaths currently are linked to Fentanyl.  

The state Department of Public Health recently released an app called NORA, the Naloxone and Overdose Response Application.  It was designed to help save lives when confronted with an opioid overdose by educating residents on how to administer naloxone.  The app uses GPS data to find nearby locations to obtain the medication.