Naloxone Availability

Description of Strategy

Developed in the early 1960s, naloxone, (also known as Narcan) is a medication used to counter the effects of opioid overdose, allowing the overdose victim to breathe normally. It is injected into the muscle, vein, or under the skin, or sprayed into the nose. Naloxone should be administered to anyone who shows signs of overdose, or when an overdose is suspected. Important to note, more than one dose of naloxone may be needed to revive someone who is overdosing, and some may require additional doses. Finally, naloxone has little potential for abuse, and can be administered by minimally trained laypeople (Behar et al., 2015).

In Wyoming

The Wyoming Grant to Prevent Prescription Drug/Opioid Overdose-Related Deaths (PDO) will, through the Wyoming Department of Health, provide funding up to $1,400 to purchase opioid-related materials. This includes educational materials, storage units, and disposal methods. In addition, Wyoming §§ 35-4-901 through 35-5-906 allows pharmacists to prescribe naloxone to individuals, so that anyone can go to a local pharmacy and ask about obtaining the drug.

Discussion of Effectiveness

Naloxone has bene associated with a substantial decrease in the number of opioid-related deaths (Bird et al., 2015; Rzasa-Lynn & Galinkin, 2018). Moreover, programs where naloxone is taken home by individuals have been successful, with few side effects (McDonald & Strang, 2018; Chimbar & Moleta, 2018). It has been approved by the FDA, distributed widely by pharmacists, and is quite safe (Thakur et al., 2019). This is particularly true when naloxone is given in low doses. It has no effect when given to individuals who are not dependent upon opioids, even when given in high doses (Wermeling, 2015; Connors & Nelson, 2016).