The Baltimore City Health Department stands firmly committed to fighting the epidemic of substance use.
We agree with op-ed writer Bernard J. McBride that heroin addiction is a chronic disease that affects individuals from every walk of life ("City task force gauging heroin treatment needs," Feb. 4).
Just like other chronic diseases, addiction requires a combination of treatments, from providing medications to addressing mental health needs and ensuring linkages to community resources.
We are also strongly committed to eliminating deaths from opioid overdoses. Very few ailments have a 100 percent cure rate as there is for heroin overdose. As an emergency room doctor, I have administered naloxone dozens of times, and I have seen how safe, effective and easy to use it is.
Naloxone must be made available to everyone so that we can all save the lives of our fellow residents.
Finally, we are not moving the needle on substance abuse unless we also focus our efforts on preventing heroin use. Providing education and implementing policies to prevent addiction is critical to combating the growing epidemic of substance use.
Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore
The writer is the health commissioner for Baltimore City.