Gaining ground in heroin war
Welcome developments on state and national fronts recently will fortify the arsenal of weaponry to successfully fight the war on heroin in the United States and in the Mahoning Valley.
In Columbus last month, Ohio Gov. John Kasich signed a bill into law that will allow friends and family members of addicts permission to administer the drug naloxone, a life-saving antitode to the chilling and too often deadly effects of heroin and other opiates.
In Washington last week, the Food and Drug Administration approved a convenient tool to administer naloxone. The device called Evzio rapidly delivers a single dose of naloxone via a hand-held auto-injector that can be carried in a pocket or stored in a nearby medicine cabinet.
Naloxone has rightly earned the “wonder drug” label because it rapidly reverses the effects of opioid abuse and has become the standard treatment for overdose. However, existing naloxone drugs and policies require administration via syringe and only by trained medical personnel.
The new developments broaden the antidote’s access to millions and makes its administration far more convenient and quick. After all, rapid response can make a huge difference between life and death of a convulsive addict.
To be effective, however, friends and family members of known opiate abusers must be proactive. That means they must arm themselves with the easily injectable Evzio, carefully read the instructions for its proper administration and realize that it must be followed up with a prompt call to emergency medical authorities. Responsibly doing so will go far toward lessening the escalating and anguishing death toll from the national scourge of opiate abuse.