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Tag: overdoses

  • Fatal overdoses involving stimulants have spiked. Local health officials are responding.

    Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania have developed a way to help identify people at risk of overdosing on stimulants, including cocaine and methamphetamine.

    “We wanted a tool that would help us predict people at high risk in order to be able to provide them with the services and interventions and supports,” said Dr. Rebecca Arden Harris, who specializes in addiction medicine and research at Penn.

    MORE: Even smoking a few cigarettes a day drastically increases risk of heart disease

    Harris and colleagues used data from more than 70 million Medicaid recipients to track emergency department visits related to stimulant overdoses. Then the team identified key risk factors, including diagnosis of substance use disorders, prior overdoses, higher poverty rates, crowded housing and being male.

    The motivation for the research is a spike in overdose deaths involving stimulants, Harris said.

    Nationwide, fatal overdoses linked to stimulant use jumped from 4,681 in 2011 to 29,449 in 2023 nationwide. Nearly 60% of fatal overdoses between 2021 and 2024 involved stimulants, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

    And while opioids, fentanyl in particular, remain the primary cause of fatal overdoses in Philadelphia, 70% of people who died from opioid overdoses in 2023 had cocaine, meth or other stimulants in their systems. About one-quarter of illicit opioid samples between January and June also contained cocaine or crack, according to the city’s drug-checking program.

    The findings reflect how the make up of Philly’s dope supply increasingly is becoming poly-chemical, and in addition to stimulants, drugs are heavy with animal sedatives, mainly medetomidine, that can reduce heart rate and cause severe withdrawal symptoms.

    People who think they are buying dope on the street may be getting bags with stimulants mixed in. Also, people who use opioids, which are sedatives, sometimes also use stimulants, or uppers, to combat the drowsiness, according to the Philadelphia Department of Public Health.

    City addressing cardiovascular dangers

    In reaction to the spike in overdose deaths involving cocaine and meth, Philadelphia recently started a campaign to educate people about the links among stimulant use, heart disease and overdose risk.

    Cocaine and other stimulants increase heart rate and blood pressure and cause vasoconstriction and vasospasm – so people who use them have heightened risks of stroke, heart failure, sudden cardiac death and other cardiovascular problems.

    Stimulant use poses other serious health problems, including the potential of meth-induced psychosis and permanent brain damage.

    Philadelphia’s outreach focuses on the heart health risks of stimulant use. It also aims to reduce barriers to primary care and help people learn how to talk to providers about stimulants, said Fatimah Maiga, a spokesperson for the health department’s Substance Use Prevention and Harm Reduction Division.

    “We really want people to be able to have an open conversation with their provider, make sure that they’re reporting their drug history, any symptoms and signs that they’ve experienced that might be related to heart disease, and then talk to their doctor about next steps, what they hope to accomplish from that visit, or continued visits with that provider,” Maiga said.

    The campaign’s website lists walk-in primary care clinics around the city. It also has a guide for how to talk to health care providers about substance use and tools for clinicians for assessing people who use stimulants.

    Limited of treatment options

    Part of the challenge of helping people who use stimulants is that no medication exists to reduce cravings or to help prevent and reverse overdoses.

    For people who use opioids, there are medications, like methadone and buprenorphine, which help reduce cravings and dependency. Narcan, the brand name for naloxone, reverses opioid overdoses by temporarily blocking their effects.

    Although research is ongoing, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has not approved such medications for cocaine or meth addiction. In the meantime, contingency management – which offers monetary or other tangible rewards for people who reach specific goals for reducing or stopping cocaine or meth use – is considered the most effective treatment for people addicted to stimulants.

    The health department wants providers to consider a harm-reduction approach, advising that “reduction in stimulant use is often more achievable than total abstinence” and that “reduced use improves health outcomes” and “should be considered a valid, positive outcome for patients who use stimulants.”

    Prediction as means to help prevention

    Penn’s Dr. Harris hopes the stimulant overdose prediction model she and her colleagues developed will assist in efforts to address the dangers of using cocaine, meth and other stimulants.

    Limitations of the study include the fact that it was confined to people with Medicaid and only looked at overdoses that resulted in emergency department visits. While more research is needed, Harris said the tool has potential for integration into public health surveillance systems. It could help identify not just individuals at risk of stimulant overdoses, but also neighborhoods that could benefit from targeted interventions, she said.

    “Part of prevention is being able to match the intervention and resources to the individuals who would most benefit from it,” Harris said.

    Courtenay Harris Bond

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  • Opioid overdoses are declining across the DC region. What’s behind the trend? – WTOP News

    Overdoses among young people appear to be falling across the D.C. region since schools tackled the issue with education and Narcan training, according to a WTOP analysis of local data.

    This story is Part 1 of WTOP’s four-part series, “Fighting Fentanyl” which explores how the drug is impacting students, families and schools in the D.C. area.

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    Opioid overdoses are declining across DC region. What’s behind the trend?

    It’s been over two years since a large group gathered outside Wakefield High School holding colorful signs.

    They had messages in both English and Spanish, hoping to show support to students at the Arlington, Virginia, school. Some hoped for increased security and new rules. The event came days after Sergio Flores, a student at the school, was suspected to have overdosed in a school bathroom in early 2023. He later died.

    The incident prompted Arlington Public Schools leaders to change their approach in response to a troubling rise in youth overdoses. They allowed students to carry Narcan, the opioid overdose reversal medication, and emphasized to students just how dangerous substance use can be.

    It’s been a few years since school districts across the D.C. region started hosting community meetings, having teachers and other staff trained in how to administer Narcan, and educating students about the dangers of opioids and other drugs at a younger age. Now, overdoses among young people appear to be falling, according to a WTOP analysis of local data.

    “The global altitude of this crisis has really affected so many people that students in our classrooms are going to know somebody who’s been affected by the opioid crisis,” said Jenny Sexton, a substance abuse counselor in Arlington Public Schools. “So helping them understand the data and how that connects them to the reality of this happening right in their hometown.”

    That approach has produced positive results. There were 11 juvenile overdoses, two of which were fatal, in Arlington in 2023, according to police data. There were two overdoses overall, both nonfatal, last year. As of this summer, there haven’t been any in 2025.

    Staff members in Arlington are trained on administering naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal medication, and students hear about substances as young as third grade. The division hosts community presentations and distributed Narcan to parents in drop-off lines twice last year at high schools.

    The biggest challenge, Sexton said, was getting people not to fear Narcan.

    “The initial concern was causing harm to someone,” Sexton said. “‘What if I hurt somebody by giving it to them?’ Or what if it doesn’t work? Am I liable for that?’”

    Nearby Fairfax County is reporting similarly positive trends. There weren’t any fatal overdoses among kids 17 and younger last year, down from five in 2023. There weren’t any overdoses that occurred during school hours or school-sanctioned activities last year either, compared to six during what the district considered its peak year.

    However, it remains a challenge. In a message to families last week, superintendent Michelle Reid said a student in the West Springfield community died of an overdose outside of school.

    “It’s still a problem, in the sense that there are still youth who use fentanyl, and fentanyl continues to be the primary opioid responsible for fatal and nonfatal overdoses in Fairfax County,” said Michael Axler, Fairfax County Public Schools’ director of intervention and prevention services. “However, holistically, we’re definitely seeing that fewer youth are being impacted by fentanyl, certainly in the calendar year 2024 compared to 2023.”

    Virginia’s largest school district keeps naloxone in every school, AED cabinet and clinic, and Axler said there are expanded treatment options for young people. All staff, including athletic coaches and trainers and security personnel, are trained to administer naloxone, and school leaders helped parents learn how to talk to their kids about the sensitive issue.

    “We always have to remember that we’re dealing with people, and so if we say we’ve reduced it by 30%, there’s still a percentage who are being affected by it,” Axler said.

    Meanwhile, it’s been over two years since a cluster of suspected overdoses involving Loudoun County Public Schools students prompted Gov. Glenn Youngkin to issue an executive order on the subject. The move outlined a time requirement for school systems to notify parents of a suspected overdose.

    In 2023, there were 22 juvenile overdoses in the county, according to sheriff’s department data. In 2024, there were six. So far this year, there have been two, including one fatal overdose.

    In Loudoun, students hear from families who have lost loved ones to an overdose. All staff are trained to administer Naloxone, and students can carry it with a parent’s permission. The district boosted the number of student assistant specialists, who have an expertise in substance use and assessment, and boosted parent engagement.

    “It was coming in here manufactured, and kids weren’t realizing what they were getting,” said Jennifer Evans, Loudoun County schools’ director of student mental health services. “And I do think the pharmaceutical companies have a role in that, and what they were prescribing, or how much they’re prescribing, and families have a role in that, locking up medication so kids can’t get to it. So there’s so many layers to that, but I do think there was a lack of information about fentanyl out there.”

    In D.C., there have been 276 deadly overdoses among all ages in the last 12 months, compared to 479 in the previous 12, according to data from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

    Ginny Atwood, co-founder of the Fairfax-based Chris Atwood Foundation, said naloxone becoming available over the counter and improved access to treatment for opioid-use disorder have likely helped contribute to the declines.

    “A lot of times if somebody revives a friend, they’re not going to the state to report the overdose reversal. So we really, truly don’t have a very good idea of how many people are surviving overdoses behind closed doors,” Atwood said.

    “It’s still a problem,” Atwood said. “It’s still something we should be talking about.”

    In Part 2 of WTOP’s “Fighting Fentanyl” series, a couple from Fairfax County speaks out after losing their son to an overdose.

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    © 2025 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Scott Gelman

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  • Drug overdose deaths decline in Philly for first time in 5 years

    Drug overdose deaths decline in Philly for first time in 5 years

    The number of people who died from drug overdoses in Philadelphia declined by 7% in 2023, the first drop-off in five years, according to data released Wednesday. Life expectancy in the city also rose closer to levels seen before the COVID-19 pandemic, a trend health officials cited as a benchmark of recovery from the public health crisis.

    There were 1,122 unintentional fatal drug overdoses last year, the city’s preliminary count shows. That’s down from 1,207 overdose deaths in 2022. There were 556 Black people who died from drug overdoses in 2023 — nearly half of the overall total. That was a slight decline from 562 in 2022, the first drop in overdose deaths among Black people in a decade.

    MORE: Breast cancer deaths have been dropping for decades, but racial disparities persist

    The 2022 overdose figures are lower than the 1,413 the Department of Public Health reported as an all-time high last fall. The health department did not immediately respond to a request for clarification about the discrepancies in its data. If the preliminary 2023 data is compared to the higher 2022 figure, the decline in overdose deaths would be greater than 20%. 

    The city did not detail how many of the fatal overdoses in 2023 were attributed to opioids. Last fall, the city reported that more than 80% of fatal overdoses in 2022 were caused by opioids — and among those deaths, 96% were linked to fentanyl. 

    The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reported a national decline of about 10.6% in drug overdose deaths in 2023, NPR reported last month. Although the federal data are provisional, some states saw drops in the range of 20% to 30%. The CDC projects a decline of about 18.57% in Pennsylvania from April 2023 to April 2024.

    Opioid overdoses came up during Tuesday’s vice presidential debate, when Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz touted significant declines in the country over the last 12 months. The CDC’s statistics through April represent the first annual decline in opioid overdose deaths since the 12 months that ended in April 2019.

    Racial disparities still prevalent

    The health department shared the new data on the city’s PhilaStats dashboard, which tracks population metrics that can be broken down by race, age and gender to better understand health outcomes in Philadelphia.

    Drug overdoses were the third most common cause of death last year behind heart disease and cancer. And there were about three times as many overdose deaths in 2023 as there were homicides, which fell to 402 after peaking at 554 in 2021.

    Megan Todd, the health department’s chief epidemiologist, said the findings on major causes of death in the city show progress in overcoming some of the biggest challenges seen during the pandemic. But the data underscore ongoing inequities in Philadelphia.

    “Too many Philadelphians continue to die from overdoses, violence, and chronic disease – issues that have threatened the city since long before COVID-19,” Todd said in a press release. “And the impact of these deaths is far from equal. Structural factors like poverty and racism mean that race, ethnicity, and neighborhood still dictate who bears the heaviest burden.”

    The city’s overall life expectancy of 76.2 years has rebounded from 73.2 years in 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic sent life expectancy downward. COVID-19 was the third highest cause of death in 2020, but fell to 13th in 2023.

    Yet, the life expectancy for Black men in Philadelphia, at 67.5 years, is well below the overall figure. Black women have a life expectancy of 77.2 years — more than 5 1/2 years lower than white women. 

    The disproportionate rise in fatal drug overdoses among Black and Hispanic Americans has been a national trend since the pandemic. Health experts have said the pervasiveness of fentanyl in street drugs has been a major contributing factor.

    In Philadelphia, fatal overdoses among Black people increased by 87% between 2018 and 2022, according to a report the health department released last fall. They rose 43% among Hispanic people. Opioids mixed with stimulants, like cocaine and methamphetamine, accounted for the sharpest increases.

    By comparison, overdose deaths among white people declined by 12% in 2022 compared to 2021. 

    Homelessness rises in Philadelphia

    The city’s homeless population has increased for three consecutive years. 

    Including people staying in emergency shelters, safe havens and transitional housing, Philadelphia’s homeless population rose to 5,198 during an annual count conducted in January, according to the Office of Homeless Services. The number of people living on the street increased from 706 people in 2023 to 976 during this year’s count — a 38% increase. 

    Kensington, the neighborhood that has been at the center of Philadelphia’s opioid epidemic, accounted for 35% of the city’s unsheltered homeless population — those who are not staying in emergency shelters, safe havens or transitional housing. That figured had increased by 23%. 

    The count happened before Mayor Cherelle Parker’s administration began its initiative to clear open air drug markets in Kensington and remove homeless encampments.

    In May, when the city cleared an encampment from a stretch of Kensington Avenue, officials said 59 people had gone into treatment or shelters offered during the month leading up to the enforcement. Some outreach workers in Kensington have criticized the city’s approach to the overdose crisis, arguing that a law-and-order enforcement plan could backfire if harm reduction does not remain a core strategy to address the multiple issues facing people in addiction. 

    The city is planning to construct a $100 million drug treatment facility in Northeast Philadelphia next to the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility. The plan calls for 290 living units and space to serve up to 690 people who need services and shelter.

    Concerns about Philadelphia’s homeless population have mounted since June, when the U.S. Supreme Court ruled on a case that may give local governments more authority to put restrictions on where homeless residents can stay outdoors.

    The health department stressed that the city still faces serious public health crises coming out of the pandemic, but said the data released Wednesday offers signs of hope.

    “These new findings are good news for Philadelphia,” Todd said. “The rebound in life expectancy suggests that we are recovering from the negative health impacts related to the COVID-19 pandemic.”

    Michael Tanenbaum

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  • Opioids are increasingly impacting Black and brown communities in this Northern Virginia county – WTOP News

    Opioids are increasingly impacting Black and brown communities in this Northern Virginia county – WTOP News

    In the greater Prince William County area, overdose cases more than doubled among Black and brown people between 2017 and 2023, according to a new study.

    In the greater Prince William County area, overdose cases more than doubled among Black and brown people between 2017 and 2023, according to a new study.

    “The opioid overdose has traditionally been a Caucasian or white person issue but that’s not what we’re seeing in today’s opioid crisis,” said Kirstin Sievers, community engagement specialist for the Prince William Health District.

    The health district, which is part of the Virginia Department of Health, investigated overdose cases and deaths in the region, which includes Prince William County and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

    Route 1 corridor hit hard

    “In the Hispanic community alone, there’s been a 500% increase in drug-related injuries, which is astronomical,” Sievers said.

    Among Black people, there was a 273% increase and there was a 106% increase among white people in the region.

    Sievers said the Route 1 corridor was hit the hardest.

    “Almost twice as many drug overdoses are happening on the east end of the county, as opposed to the west,” she said.

    When it comes to age groups, the 30- to 39-year-old group accounted for the most overdose cases, but the problem is skewing younger.

    “There’s a huge burden happening within the young adult population, so that 20-to-25 age group has grown tremendously, and they have a harder time engaging in treatment,” she said.

    ‘Chilling insight’

    In total, the region saw 454 people lose their lives to an overdose between 2017 and 2023.

    Sievers also said data concerning where overdoses are happening is telling, as is who is around victims at the time they overdose. The study found that 66% of people who overdosed did so at home and 79% of them had a bystander present.

    “That meant that someone was in the home, someone was within a certain amount of feet away from an individual who was unfortunately expiring based off of the opioids in their system,” she said.

    The study also found an increase in children overdosing by getting their hands on drugs around the home.

    And in what Sievers called “the most chilling insight,” the report also found one in four deaths was witnessed by a child.

    “These are all children under the age of 14,” she said.

    High costs

    The study also found the high costs associated with hospitalizations associated with opioid use disorder, with more than $3 million spent in 2022 alone. Also, $1.03 million was spent to treat infants with neonatal abstinence syndrome, which is result of being exposed to drugs while in the womb.

    All the information, according to Sievers, will help the region better understand the situation and get help and resources that areas that need them.

    “Prince William region is really working on creating low-barrier access to either medication assisted therapy or other … services, whether it’s treatment, rehab, group therapy, we’re really trying to close those gaps in care,” she said.

    Also, despite most overdoses occurring with a bystander present, only a third of victims received naloxone. She said this shows a need to encourage everyone to carry the opioid overdose reversal drug.

    “You never know when you’re going to come across an incident where you could save someone’s life,” she said.

    Removing the stigma

    She also said a stigma exists, which makes those in need of help less likely to ask for it. That, she said, needs to be addressed.

    “I think it’s really important to stress that people should get educated, that they should check on their neighbors, that they should recognize that addiction is not a moral failing. It is a disease that people are really fighting for their lives to get through,” Sievers said.

    She said while there is more funding coming in to help in this fight, even more will be needed.

    “There’s always a greater need than what we have funding for, but we, we will find a will and find a way,” she said.

    The numbers showed a dramatic spike in cases amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and Sievers said a light improvement has been seen in year-to-year overdose numbers since then.

    “We’re not yet at pre-pandemic levels for fatalities or nonfatal overdoses, but we are beginning to see a slight decline in our region, as well as across the state of Virginia,” she said.

    In presenting these findings, the state also plans to hold a listening session in which residents can weigh in on possible solutions to the crisis.

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    © 2024 WTOP. All Rights Reserved. This website is not intended for users located within the European Economic Area.

    Mike Murillo

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  • Orange County Adopts CDC Initiative to Reduce Fatal & Nonfatal Overdoses

    Orange County Adopts CDC Initiative to Reduce Fatal & Nonfatal Overdoses

    In order to address the increasing number of overdose deaths related to prescription opioids and illicit drugs, Orange County has engaged with the Centers for Disease Control and recently was awarded a grant funded by the CDC to implement its Stop Overdose campaigns locally.

    The series of campaigns focuses on four key areas: the dangers of illicitly manufactured fentanyl, the risks and consequences of mixing drugs (polysubstance use), the lifesaving power of naloxone, and the importance of reducing stigma around recovery and treatment options. The messaging highlights drug-use trends and encourages harm-reduction practices.

    “We worked with CDC staff to determine the best messages for our community, and they helped us identify our priorities,” explained Dr. Thomas Hall, director, Orange County Drug-Free Coalition. “The campaigns are based on best-practice marketing strategies, and the messages are simple and direct. Each message has an action associated with the information presented.”

    The connecting feature of the campaigns is the Stop Overdose website, which was launched as a resource library for people who use drugs and their loved ones. Each subpage on the website features campaign messaging, support data and resources for the intended audience – those who use drugs between the ages of 18-34.

    “There’s a big stigma attached to addiction, so we need to get specific messages out to people who use illicit drugs, including that the community offers access to free medicine that reverses opioid overdoses and free treatment,” asserted Megan Giddens, senior program manager, Orange County Drug-Free Office. “This campaign really helps get these messages to its intended audience.”

    Three hundred people die of a drug overdose every day in this country, and the availability of illicit fentanyl significantly increases the likelihood of opioid overdoses and overdose deaths. In our community and across the nation, deaths related to mixing fentanyl with other drugs, such as cocaine and methamphetamines, are most prominent.

    For more about local strategies, programs and resources, visit Orange County Responds.

    “The Drug Enforcement Administration reported 7 out of every 10 pills seized by the agency contain a lethal dose of fentanyl, yet drug users may not know the risk of fentanyl being present,” said Dr. Hall. “Raising awareness of these risks is a priority for Orange County, and the Drug-Free Coalition is committed to expanding harm reduction strategies to reduce drug-related deaths in our community.”

    Giddens agreed the priority is saving lives. “We have high overdose rates in this region, so Stop Overdose is a critical education piece,” she said. “We want to be proactive, and this represents an effective preventive measure.”

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  • Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection

    Mass. marijuana shops pay towns hefty fees. Why that might change. – Medical Marijuana Program Connection


    … Monday. 
    Under current state law, marijuana establishments must pay a community … the costs imposed by the marijuana establishment.  
    “Reasonably related” means there … offset the operation of a marijuana establishment. Those costs could include …

    Original Author Link click here to read complete story..



    MMP News Author

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  • FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan. Here’s what it means | Long Island Business News

    FDA approves over-the-counter Narcan. Here’s what it means | Long Island Business News

    The U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday approved selling naloxone without a prescription, setting the overdose-reversing drug on course to become the first opioid treatment drug to be sold over the counter.

    It’s a move that some advocates have long sought as a way to improve access to a life-saving drug, though the exact impact will not be clear immediately.

    Here’s a look at the issues involved.

    WHAT IS NARCAN?

    The approved branded nasal spray from Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions is the best-known form of naloxone.

    It can reverse overdoses of opioids, including street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl and prescription versions including oxycodone.

    Making naloxone available more widely is seen as a key strategy to control the nationwide overdose crisis, which has been linked to more than 100,000 U.S. deaths a year. The majority of those deaths are tied to opioids, primarily potent synthetic versions such as fentanyl that can take multiple doses of naloxone to reverse.

    Advocates believe it’s important to get naloxone to the people who are most likely to be around overdoses, including people who use drugs and their relatives.

    Police and other first responders also often carry it.

    ___

    WHAT DOES THE FDA APPROVAL MEAN?

    Narcan will become available over-the-counter by late summer, the company said.

    Other brands of naloxone and injectable forms will not yet be available over the counter, but they could be soon.

    The nonprofit Harm Reduction Therapeutics Inc., which has funding from OxyContin maker Purdue Pharma, has an application before the FDA to distribute its version of spray naloxone without a prescription.

    ___

    HOW IS NALOXONE DISTRIBUTED NOW?

    Even before the FDA’s action, pharmacies could sell naloxone without a prescription because officials in every state have allowed it.

    But not every pharmacy carries it. And buyers have to pay for the medication — either with an insurance co-pay or for the full retail price. The cost varies, but two doses of Narcan often go for around $50.

    The drug is also distributed by community organizations that serve people who use drugs, though it’s not easily accessible to everyone who needs it.

    Emergent has not announced its price and it’s not clear yet whether insurers will continue to cover it as a prescription drug if it’s available over the counter.

    ___

    DOES MAKING NALOXONE OVER-THE-COUNTER IMPROVE ACCESS?

    It clears the way for Narcan to be made available in places without pharmacies — convenience stores, supermarkets and online retailers, for instance.

    Jose Benitez, the lead executive officer at Prevention Point Philadelphia, an organization that tries to reduce risk for people who use drugs with services including handing out free naloxone, said it could help a lot for people who don’t seek services — or who live in places where they’re not available.

    Now, he said, some people are concerned about getting naloxone at pharmacies because their insurers will know they’re getting it.

    “Putting it out of the shelves is going to allows people just to pick it up, not have stigma attached to it and readily access this life-saving drug,” he said.

    But it remains to be seen how many stores will carry it and what the prices will be. The U.S. Centers for Medicaid and Medicare Services, which now cover prescription naloxone for people on the government insurance programs, says that coverage of over-the-counter naloxone would depend on the insurance program. The centers have not given any official guidance.

    Maya Doe-Simkins, a co-director of Remedy Alliance/For The People, which launched last year to provide low-cost — and sometimes free — naloxone to community organizations, said her group will continue to distribute injectable naloxone.

    ___

    ARE THERE DRAWBACKS TO OVER-THE-COUNTER SALES?

    One concern is whether people who buy Narcan over-the-counter will know how to use it properly, said Keith Humphreys, a Stanford University addiction expert, though the manufacturer is responsible for clear directions and online videos on that.

    One benefit of having pharmacists involved, he said, is that they can show buyers how to use it. One key thing people need to be reminded of: Call an ambulance for the person receiving naloxone after it’s been administered.

    He also said there are fears that if the drug isn’t profitable as an over-the-counter option, the drugmaker could stop producing it.

    “

    The Associated Press

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