Naloxone: How Many Second Chances Should a Person Get?

“It’s hard to feel empathy for an intoxicated person who caused a crash when you are looking at innocent people he has killed.” On November 1st, Wilmington, North Carolina resident Jonathan Hayes plowed his pickup truck into the back of a family car, killing a two-year-old boy, Mason Richardson, and injuring the boy’s pregnant mother and sibling. The fire department and EMS personnel who arrived on scene found Hayes unconscious from an apparent heroin overdose and revived him using the opioid antidote, naloxone. This was the fourth time Hayes had been brought back from an overdose with naloxone. This incident and others like it have ignited firestorm debates around the country, unleashing grief, anger and frustration at the lives lost to the irresponsible actions of people under the influence. But the ire is often directed at a surprising scapegoat: naloxone. Used to reverse overdose from opioids such as heroin and prescription painkillers, naloxone (also called Narcan) has rapidly increased in availability across the country in an effort to reduce overdose deaths. Once a medicine reserved strictly for emergency personnel, in many states naloxone is now available to laypeople through pharmacies or community distribution programs. Advocates for naloxone point out that the medicine saves lives and gives people a second chance to make changes. But others hold opinions such as those published in the comments section of the Wilmington Star News after Hayes’ acci...
Source: World of Psychology - Category: Psychiatry & Psychology Authors: Tags: Addiction Disorders Medications Publishers Recovery Substance Abuse The Fix Addiction Recovery death Drug overdose EMS Heroin Naloxone Narcan opioid opioid addiction Opioid receptor prescription drug abuse Source Type: blogs