The Drug That Saves Lives Even if It’s Never Used

NYT OPINION: The Drug That Saves Lives Even if It’s Never Used
By Elizabeth Spiers
Section: Opinion
Source: New York Times
Published Date: May 7, 2023 at 03:00AM

Just handling Narcan and learning how to use it changes the way people think about drug addiction.

On a Tuesday morning last month, Dr. Jonathan Avery welcomed me into his office for a demonstration of how to use naloxone (better known by its brand name, Narcan) to reverse an opioid overdose. Although the drug has no major adverse effects, until later this year, New York State requires people to get some training before they can administer it. Dr. Avery, the vice chair for addiction psychiatry at Weill Cornell Medicine, had conducted many such trainings, and in his office that day he got right to it. He held up a small white plastic squeeze bottle, pressed the release button and watched as a tiny mist of Narcan burst from the nozzle. “That’s it,” he said.

The F.D.A. recently approved Narcan for over-the-counter purchase, an important step in making it accessible to those who might need it or be in a position to give it to someone who’s overdosing.

Still, the drug has yet to become a standard part of the public’s tool kit. It’s not something you can count on every store and restaurant to have on hand, and I don’t know how many subway cars you’d have to walk through before you found someone with a dose in a backpack. Why, I wanted to know, should something that could save a life remain out of reach?

Read more at: https://www.nytimes.com/2023/05/07/opinion/narcan-drug-opioid.html