Expanded access to Narcan slowly rolling out
In April, 2018 the US Surgeon General, Jerome Adams, issued the first national health advisory in over 10 years (the last was the warning for women not to drink alcohol during pregnancy.) The advisory is for more Americans to carry naloxone, the “Epi-pen” for opioid overdose. Fast forward over a year and slowly, VERY slowly, we’re starting to see this life-saving advice come to life. There are efforts under way to make naloxone (generic form of Narcan) available over the counter (OTC) rather than only through a pharmacy. In January 2019 the FDA announced new efforts to expand naloxone access by making it easier for companies to make over-the-counter (OTC) versions. And New Jersey is stepping up by offering naloxone FREE and anonymously at participating pharmacies on June 18th, 2019, a bold attempt to try and curb their overdose death epidemic which took 3,100 New Jersey lives in 2018. You can find a list of the NJ pharmacies offering free Naloxone here.
Finally, all 50 states and the District of Columbia have standing orders for people to get Narcan - see the map below for specific laws:
Research has shown that when access to naloxone (Narcan) is expanded, fatal opioid overdoses fall dramatically - as much as 27%[.1] While some people may not understand the concept of saving someone who is actively using substances that can and likely will take their life, they should be aware that for each person whose life is saved by Naloxone, it gives them a chance at recovery - after all you cannot treat a corpse. Had it not been for two life saving rescues using Narcan, my son would not be attending college, working and leading a healthy, productive life, with the goal of working in the addiction treatment industry. Each life matters, every single one.
Widely available access to this medication is critical in slowing down the death rate and in getting those battling the opioid war into long-term treatment. It’s startling to know that 57% of people in a recent survey said avoiding withdrawal was the primary reason they’re currently taking opioids - not to get high, not to avoid dealing with life, not to party - simply to avoid the unreal and debilitating experience of detoxing their body. I’ll dedicate another post to developments in this area, a combination of medications and devices are slowly coming to market to ease the transition from active use to detoxification.
Saving lives is also good for our economy. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimates that the total "economic burden" of prescription opioid misuse alone in the United States is $78.5 billion a year, including the costs of healthcare, lost productivity, addiction treatment, and criminal justice involvement.[2] If we can’t get communities to respond to the human fallout from this epidemic, perhaps we should start talking about the dollars - since those are the largest contributing factor to what got us here in the first place.