The U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s announcement that Narcan would soon be sold over the counter was met with relief in Ohio and greater Cleveland, where drug overdoses have reached alarming levels.
The FDA has just approved over-the-counter sales for naloxone, also known as Narcan. While advocates say it’s a step in the right direction, they fear it could come with some barriers.
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Ashley Rosser of Thrive hands a free naloxone kit to Tony Phillips. The kit also includes fentanyl test strips, food, water, and other resources so people can provide help to someone having an overdose.
Doug Ullmann has seen firsthand that naloxone can save lives. He said a person overdosed at the addiction treatment house where he lived, and another person administered naloxone to save his life.
“I’d never dealt with it before in my life,” he said.
He said naloxone also called by its brand name Narcan was kept at the house for situations like that one. Ullmann was one of the people who received a free naloxone kit that was being distributed by the Cleveland agency Thrive at the West Side Catholic Center on Tuesday.