BRANFORD - State Rep. Sean Scanlon (D- District 98; Guilford/Branford) will speak at a gathering on the Branford Green at 6 p.m. Thursday, August 31, to commemorate International Overdose Awareness Day. The event, one of thousands of similar events being held across Connecticut and the country, is being organized by All Things Recovery in Branford.

Scanlon has led the legislature's effort to combat Connecticut's opioid epidemic and became a leading voice on issues of mental health and addiction.

In 2015 he co-sponsored Public Act　15-198, a landmark law that required education for doctors and other prescribers on prescription drug abuse, cracked down on "doctor shopping" for prescription drugs, and allowed pharmacists to prescribe life-saving anti-overdose drugs like Narcan over the counter.

In 2016 Sean wrote and sponsored legislation making Connecticut the second state in the nation to limit first-time opioid prescriptions to a seven day supply with exemptions for chronic pain as a way of reducing the number of unused and expired drugs in our communities.