Recovering addicts in attorney general's video explain value of Narcan

COLUMBUS

If not for naloxone, Nicky Kelly and Valerie Brodbeck probably would not be here today.

Both women are recovering heroin addicts. And both were treated with the overdose-blocking drug, sold under the brand name Narcan, multiple times during the height of their addiction.

On Thursday, the two women urged law enforcement, emergency responders and others to have naloxone supplies on hand and ready to use, as Ohio works to counter opiate addictions that have risen to crisis levels.

They also asked the general public to support Narcan use.

“A lot of the times in the community, I hear people say we shouldn’t be giving out Narcan, we’re just enabling them to keep using, they’re never going to get clean ...,” said Brodbeck, who now works with families of addicts through a Dayton-area agency. “If knowing that you could die if you did heroin would stop somebody from using it, nobody would be doing it in the first place. When I was out there, I wasn’t having fun, I didn’t want to keep using, but I was addicted and I couldn’t stop. ... Sometimes it takes multiple times [of using naloxone], but it’s worth it to save that life.”

Brodbeck and Kelly are featured in a new video produced by the attorney general’s office to spotlight the benefits of naloxone.

Read more of their story and the probem in Friday's Vindicator or on Vindy.com.