INDIANAPOLIS — Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan, has now become the first opioid treatment drug made available over the counter without a prescription.
"Naloxone is crucial," said Justin Phillips, founder and executive director of Overdose Lifeline.
According to the Centers for Disease Control, 107,375 people in the United States died of drug overdoses and drug poisonings in the 12-month period ending in January 2022. Of those deaths, 67 percent involved synthetic opioids like fentanyl.
"Unfortunately, we have an increase in fentanyl, which is 100 times stronger as an opioid illicitly manufactured and unfortunately found in almost every single drug that you purchase off the street," Phillips said.
That's one of the reasons why Phillips said the FDA made the right move.
"Making it a non-scheduled drug is important because it doesn’t cause you any harm if you administer it to someone. It merely knocks the opiods off your receptors and reverses an overdose, so there really was no need for it to be so regulated," Phillips said.
Naloxone can restore normal breathing within 2 to 3 minutes in a person whose breath has slowed, or even stopped, as a result of opioid overdose.
Phillips said people have been able to access Naloxone over the counter without a prescription since 2015 under a statewide order.
"It's just the increase in access in the direction of funding that really began in 2020 due to the pandemic and the partnership with the state of Indiana," said Phillips.
Gov. Eric Holcomb's office and the Division of Mental Health and Addiction partnered with Overdose Lifeline. Phillips said that was due to drug overdoses increasing due to "pandemic isolation."
"We have worked with them in partnership to create a distribution network across the state," said Phillips.
That includes about 200 distributors in 91 Indiana counties, a Nalox Box offering free access to Naloxone 24-7, vending machines that offer Naloxone at Eskenazi Hospital, the and Marion County Jail.
"Those are really intended to hit high risk populations. You can go on our website and fill out a simple form anonymously and we will send it to you in the mail," said Phillips.
One of the many goals is to help young people avoid drugs.
"We have to work on our young people to understand that a substance is not a solution, and what can we give them in alternatives to help them," said Phillips.
For more information on the Overdose Lifeline, click here.