BOSTON — Money is flowing into state and county correctional facilities to help treat substance abuse disorders, putting sheriffs and jail wardens on the front-lines of the state’s battle against
BOSTON — Money is flowing into state and county correctional facilities to help treat substance abuse disorders, putting sheriffs and jail wardens on the front-lines of the state s battle against
Posing as shoppers, a team of researchers from the University of Mississippi called nearly 600 pharmacies across the state and asked a simple, yes-or-no question: “Do you have naloxone that I can pick up today?” Mississippi enacted a law authorizing pharmacists to sell the opioid overdose reversal drug naloxone — often sold under the brand name Narcan — in 2017. The drug, which can be administered via nasal spray or injection, can prevent death from overdose by blocking the effect of opioids in the body. The results of the survey, conducted last year, were disheartening: Despite the Mississippi law, 41% of the pharmacies the researchers called refused to dispense naloxone. Only 37% had naloxone available for same-day pickup.
More states and municipalities have launched programs to distribute hundreds of thousands of doses of naloxone for free in a myriad of ways: by mail, vending machines, community groups, telehealth, first responders and more.
More states and municipalities have launched programs to distribute hundreds of thousands of doses of naloxone for free in a myriad of ways: by mail, vending machines, community groups, telehealth, first responders and more.