Ohio is launching a targeted deployment of naloxone, sending 60,000 doses of the antidote for an opioid overdose to 23 counties. The idea is to get ahead of a usual summertime rise in overdoses. Yet one of its partners in distributing the naloxone questions the equity of the plan, calling it racially biased.
Harm Reduction Ohio says the state’s plan excludes some areas that have high overdose death rates for Black Ohioans, including parts of Cincinnati and Columbus. It also charges the plan gives an insufficient amount of the drug to rural areas.
The heart of the problem: The two sides use different ways to measure the impact of overdoses.