The glowing circular pin on my wallet reads “I CARRY NALOXONE” and declares our readiness to respond to the opioid overdose that is killing more than 180 people every day in this country. increase. This means that if someone stops breathing, turns blue and becomes unresponsive after an overdose, naloxone can be administered to reverse another tragedy.
I am not a medical professional or a trained paramedic. Anyone can reverse an overdose in an emergency and even call 911 and give artificial respiration. We all carry this miracle drug in our purses and back pockets.
The FDA made this easier last month by approving Emergent BioSolutions’ Narcan nasal spray for over-the-counter (OTC) sales. The first overdose antagonist approved for community use, now he is OTC, delivering a spray of naloxone through the nose and acting in minutes. This decision took a long time. Emergency medical practitioners have used naloxone for decades and it has been prescribed for carrying by the general public since 1996. As a harm reduction expert, I know that ultimately he approved one of his OTC his naloxone products is a step in the right direction, but not very far. . sufficient.
More Americans die from drug overdoses each year than the total number of lives lost during the Vietnam War. By 2021, this will exceed 107,000. The drug overdose crisis lowered the average American’s life expectancy even before the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic has seen record overdose deaths due to isolation and economic struggles. In Maryland, as in most parts of the country, we have seen the illegally manufactured opioid fentanyl fuel a sharp rise in overdose deaths. Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than morphine and stops breathing faster than heroin. And Maryland’s Drug Checks program has shown that used equipment is tested in the statewide Harm Reduction Program to be virtually free of heroin on the illicit drug market. Mainly fentanyl. Naloxone is the most important tool available to respond to this high-risk environment, and aggressive action is needed to reverse the devastating trend of mortality.
We can start by freeing naloxone from a prescription requirement, not just in the more expensive nasal spray, but in all prescriptions (including injections). was worth it. It is safe, effective, has no potential for abuse, and can be used by anyone without training. The Harm Reduction Program, a comprehensive care center that helps people who use the drug without judgment, has distributed it since 1996. We have made it officially available.We distribute it at street corners, homeless camps, and barbershops. Studies show that it is more widely distributed among people who are most likely to witness an overdose—those who use drugs—and lower overall opioid overdose mortality.
The failure of the “war on drugs” that criminalized drugs and imprisoned those who use them helps explain the slow federal response to the overdose crisis. We have over-invested and under-invested in addiction treatment and harm reduction. Over the last 10 years.
Prior to that, harm reduction nonprofits and activists helped improve drug user health care from the bottom up by distributing naloxone and other life-saving products in creative ways despite legal barriers. I have activated it. For example, Dan Bigg and the Chicago Recovery Alliance had doctors write prescriptions on site with staff to provide training to circumvent the prescription requirement for naloxone in the 1990s. Nonprofits like this are still best positioned to provide drug users with naloxone, but they can’t distribute enough to stop the tsunami of overdose deaths. Due to the lack of , they are underfunded and understaffed, struggling to meet the ever-increasing demand for their services. The Biden administration has only approved her $30 million in 2021, the first federal spending dedicated to harm reduction.
Additionally, cost outweighs convenience with naloxone. OTC nasal sprays welcome, but community distribution of all naloxone formulations to people at highest risk of overdose —For free— remains essential to making sure it’s on hand after every overdose. Product placement is also important to avoid the stigma surrounding drug use. People may not want to be seen holding a box of Narkan at the checkout. A harm reduction program that uses free naloxone to meet people bypasses these barriers.
The federal government should completely remove all forms and dosages of naloxone from prescription requirements. Federal funding should go to companies like the Remedy Alliance, which is run by some of the nation’s leading naloxone experts. The Remedy Alliance negotiates low prices for naloxone with pharmaceutical companies and distributes it to harm reduction programs. State funds can support organizations that provide free naloxone to people who use drugs in innovative ways and their families. It will be easier to deliver in major locations such as departments, opioid treatment programs, prisons, churches, hair salons, skate parks (why?). Naloxone in vending machines expands the range of harm reduction programs, as well as door-to-door delivery by mail. A whole new world of free naloxone distribution is critical and needs support to reverse the overdose mortality trend.
Going one step further, ending the opioid overdose crisis requires drug decriminalization and reinvestment in behavioral health. Oregon voters said he made this happen in 2020. This has been influenced by European countries like Portugal, where decriminalization and investments in harmonization have resulted in drug use and related deaths well below the European average. From the ground up, I think this major shift in America’s drug policy is not only possible, it’s inevitable. . It begins with the release of naloxone.
This is an opinion and analysis article and the views expressed by the author or authors are not necessarily Scientific American.
