Wayne County patrol deputies are now carrying Naloxone to be able to quickly treat people suffering from opiate overdoses. Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, is an opioid antagonist which will temporarily reverse the effects of an opiate.
For example, a person suffering from a heroin overdose can be treated with Narcan, which can reverse the effects and will help the victim regain consciousness. The victim still needs to be transported to the hospital for medical treatment since Narcan is not a cure or a permanent fix.
Deputies attended training on Narcan in January and February and it was issued to them on April 1st. Since then, the life saving drug has been administered twice and in both incidents the victim survived the overdose.
Sheriff Larry Pierce states, “In Wayne County as in every other county in our state and I am sure many other states, there has been a tremendous increase in overdoses. If issuing this tool to our deputies will even safe one life it is well worth it. The victims do need to realize that it is a temporary fix and they will need professional treatment. There have been cases in other areas where a person refused medical treatment after receiving Narcan and went back into an overdose reaction after the Narcan wore off.”
