While a recent news article published by the AP says Marshall County has the highest rate of Naloxone distribution in the nation, locals are saying this is a positive and not a negative.
The article says retail pharmacies across the country doubled their dispensing of Naloxone, a lifesaving overdose drug, from 2017 to 2018. Of the top 30 counties in the nation, Marshall County was at the top of the list.
Christine Stinson from the Marshall County Health Department said the FREE Narcan program they have offered are not counted in the figures put out by the Center for Disease Control (CDC). She also said she was not contacted by the CDC or Indiana state Department of Health on the number of Naloxone prescription dispensed in the county but is looking into the information to try and see if there are location in the county that are dispensing large amounts.
Stinson said last Thanksgiving, within a 48 hour period the county had a total of 7 overdose situations and not one of those people died. She attributes that to the Health Departments proactive program offering FREE Narcan to citizens who may have relatives, loved ones or friends with a drug addiction. Stinson said local police agencies have trained their officers to administer Narcan in an overdose situation and emergency medical providers also carry a form of the live saving drug.
State officials in Indiana have made it easier to obtain Naloxone, also known by the brand name Narcan®, a non-narcotic that is an antidote for opioid overdoses. A person seeking Naloxone can ask the pharmacist to use the state health commissioner’s statewide standing order. No prescription is needed. You may find a location by looking at this map, https://optin.in.gov/.
If administered in a timely manner, Naloxone can reverse the life-threatening respiratory failure that is usually the cause of overdose deaths. Naloxone has been proven effective in reversing overdoses caused by heroin and prescription medications such as OxyContin, Percocet, Methadone and Vicodin.
Linda Yoder from the United Way/Community Foundation will be our guest on Friday’s What’s Your Opinion Show Friday about 9:30 a.m. to discuss the good things that are happening in Marshall County to combat the opioid crisis.
