Narcan

A man who goes by the name Dave Carvagio holds a packaged syringe in Pickering Square in Bangor, Maine. The Bangor chapter of the Church of Safe Injection sets up a table in the square and offers free naloxone, needles and other drug-using supplies.

'Church Of Safe Injection' Offers Needles, Naloxone To Prevent Opioid Overdoses

7:27am February 12, 2019

by Deborah Becker

The group says it has 18 chapters in eight states, all of them funded by private, anonymous donations. Members distribute free and clean drug-use supplies even at the risk of being arrested.

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"People have to be alive to get the help that they need," said Brittney Webster, who got free naloxone at a health center in Carlisle, Pa.

Health & Safety

In Pennsylvania, People Lined Up For Free Naloxone

4:43pm December 14, 2018

by Brett Sholtis

Across the state, volunteers in Pennsylvania distributed naloxone on Thursday. The drug reverses the effects of opioid overdose. The giveaway was part of a state plan to combat the opioid epidemic.

Nurse Denied Life Insurance Because She Carries Naloxone

10:28am December 13, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The U.S. surgeon general has called on "bystanders" to be equipped with the opioid reversal drug to save lives. But when a nurse answered that call, her application for life insurance was denied. Why?

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A Philadelphia police officer holds a package of the overdose antidote naloxone while on patrol in the Kensington neighborhood of Philadelphia in April 2017.

Health & Safety

Opioid Antidote Can Save Lives, But Deciding When To Use It Can Be Challenging

3:24pm October 29, 2018

by Nina Feldman

Public health officials says it's simple to save the lives of people experiencing an opioid overdose: Give an antidote. But for a bystander, that intervention can be daunting.

Some sixty "Opiod Overdose Kits" have been added defibrillator boxes in Bridgewater State University dorms and academic buildings like this one.

On College Campuses, Making Overdose Medication Readily Available

10:36pm October 22, 2018

by Tovia Smith

College campuses are growing increasingly concerned about how to keep students safe amid a national opioid crisis. Some schools provide free and easy access to drugs that can reverse an overdose.

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The contents of the naloxone kit inside an AED box located in the VA West Roxbury cafeteria.

VA Adding Opioid Antidote To Defibrillator Cabinets For Quicker Overdose Response

7:44am September 27, 2018

by Martha Bebinger

The overdose antidote naloxone could soon be available in more public places. The Veterans Administration is adding it to its automated defibrillator cabinets. Other institutions are following suit.

A man holds a sample of the opioid antidote Narcan during a training session at a New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene office in March.

Health & Safety

Poll: Most Americans Know About Opioid Antidote And Are Willing To Use It

3:29pm August 21, 2018

by Scott Hensley

While a majority of Americans know about naloxone, there is confusion about the fact that in most places a prescription isn't required to obtain the emergency overdose treatment.

A man checks out an anti-overdose kit he was given at a clinic. With America confronting an opioid epidemic, Walgreens says it will stock naloxone spray at all of its pharmacies.

Narcan Opioid Overdose Spray Is Now Stocked By All Walgreens Pharmacies

5:43pm October 26, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Letting people get the medicine "without an individual prescription in 45 states is critical in combating this crisis," says the CEO of Narcan maker Adapt Pharma.

A test strip designed to help doctors check a patient's urine for fentanyl is being distributed in the Bronx to encourage users of heroin or other opioids to check what's in their syringe before they inject.

An Experiment Helps Heroin Users Test Their Street Drugs For Fentanyl

4:34pm May 16, 2017

by Mary Harris

Some people on heroin die because the drug was laced with something much stronger — like fentanyl. A few needle exchange programs give users test strips to check their drug's content before injecting.

A rodent named Snuggles was saved by volunteers at an overdose prevention site, after expereincing a heroin overdose.

Health & Safety

Pet Rat In Vancouver Overdoses On Heroin, Saved By Narcan

2:17pm May 16, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Snuggles ate some heroin, according to the woman who brought the little rodent into an overdose prevention site in Canada. Volunteers administered a drug that reverses opioid overdoses.