Local pharmacies get heroin-overdose antidote

YOUNGSTOWN

Six area pharmacies now have Naloxone – a medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose – that people can request without a prescription.

Out of seven pharmacies in the state that now offer the drug, six are in the Mahoning Valley.

Brine Pharmacy in Girard is one of them; the other five are Hometown Pharmacy locations in Struthers, Youngstown, Poland, Brookfield and Columbiana.

Individuals can stop by a pharmacy and request a Naloxone kit – which comes with two doses, syringes and instructions – under their name, even if the intended use is for someone else.

The cost of the drug can be billed to an insurance company, and most insurance companies cover it, according to a pharmacist at Hometown Pharmacy.