On Thursday, California Gov. Jerry Brown signed into law Assembly Bill 635 which will expand the use of the
drug naloxone across the state. Naloxone, also known by its brand name Narcan, can be
administered to a person suffering from an opiate overdose to restore
breathing. Starting Jan. 1, drug users and their family and friends will be able
to request a naloxone prescription from a doctor or addiction treatment
program.
Naloxone is non-addictive, non-toxic, fairly cheap and is easy to administer through the nose or intravenously. It was approved by the FDA in 1971 and is stocked in thousands of emergency rooms, ambulances and post-surgery recovery rooms across the country. But frequently, opiate users don't make it to the hospital in time.
In 2008, California implemented a pilot program in seven counties that allowed drug users, their family and friends, health care professionals and addiction counselors to administer naloxone in an emergency -- and be protected from civil or criminal liability if anything goes wrong. The new law expands the program to the whole state.
Drug overdoses kill more people each year than either cars or guns. In 2010, the Centers for Disease Control reported, 38,329 people died of drug overdoses -- mostly from opiates.
Between 1996 and 2010, overdose prevention programs resulted in reversing more than 10,000 overdoses using naloxone, and trained more than 50,000 laypersons to revive someone with the drug during an overdose, according to the CDC.
There are more than 52 programs in at least 17 states that distribute naloxone to those at risk of overdose and to laypeople who might be first responders in emergency overdose situations. The programs are expected to train recipients in overdose prevention; recognition and response, like calling 911; rescue breathing; and administering naloxone.
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