“Opioid overdose is typically reversible through the timely administration of the drug naloxone and the provision of emergency care. However, access to naloxone and other emergency treatment is often limited by laws and that pre-date the overdose epidemic. In an attempt to reverse this unprecedented increase in preventable overdose deaths, a number of states have recently amended those laws to increase access to emergency care and treatment for opiate overdose.”
The Network for Public Health Law has published an update on access to naloxone by state and Good Samaritan laws.
http://www.networkforphl.org/_asset/qz5pvn/network-naloxone-10-4.pdf
Source: Network for Public Health Law – May, 2013
Distributing a drug that reverses drug overdoses in heroin users would save lives and be cost-effective, according to a new analysis.
Speaking at a North Carolina overdose-prevention program, the Obama administration’s drug czar Gil Kerlikowske called for increased action to prevent drug overdose deaths. Notably, for the first time Kerlikowske urged wider distribution of a medication called naloxone, an antidote to overdoses of opioid drugs, including prescription pain relievers and heroin, saying that “naloxone can be expanded beyond public health officials.”
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has for the first time advocated considering the distribution of the naloxone, an overdose antidote, as a way to curb the rising toll of overdose deaths in America.