Save A Life

From the New York Times there is this...

More than 100,000 of our countrymen die of overdoses each year, most of them as a consequence of the synthetic opioid fentanyl.  This toll is greater than the sum of deaths from homicides and suicides combined.  Ugh.

Nevertheless, the cavalry is coming.  Not in the form of a cure for the horrors of addiction or somehow miraculously halting all traces of fentanyl from our communities; but in the form of a change of policy focused-upon saving lives and the possibility of a second lease on life.  And with that a chance to treat addiction.

In March of this year the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved the distribution of Narcan, which is the brand name for naloxone, a drug that stops opioid overdoses.  And you can obtain it without a prescription.  Implemented in September this change represents a policy which has come to be known as harm reduction.  In an earlier time lawmakers would have considered this strategy far too radical for their tastes; however, the lethality of fentanyl and the enormity of the deaths attributed to it have changed hearts and minds.  Harm reduction focuses not on abstinence, but reducing the number of deaths.  A dead addict has no chance of recovery.  Saving the life of an overdose victim affords the survivor a chance to overcome their addiction.

I suppose that in some circles this still remains a radical proposition.  This blogger is convinced that preventing a death as a consequence of unintentional overdose is worth a shot (pun intended).  I published on this subject back in March of this year when we introduced a Two Pack of Narcan to our household first aid supplies. 

Law enforcement and first responders have been equipped with Narcan for several years and combined with availability by prescription, deaths attributed to unintentional overdose have plateaued after doubling between 2014 and 2021.  It is hoped that making Narcan universally accessible to schools, family members and concerned citizens without requiring a prescription will save even more lives and reverse the mortality numbers.  

In my view if it saves the life of an adolescent who made a bad decision that's worth it.  If it reverses an accidental overdose it's worth it.  You cannot get someone into a treatment program if they're dead.  Perhaps if family, friends and communities have an opportunity to intervene, that's a good place to start.

Consider adding it to your first aid kit. 

Thank you.