NJ teens can get opioid OD reversal drug for free

Since 2018, state deaths total over 3,000 per year

By: Ken Serrano
Asbury Park Press
USA Today Network - New Jersey

..... The Murphy administration unveiled a plan Tuesday [01/10/2023] to allow anyone as young as 14 to walk into a pharmacy to obtain free naloxone, the life-saving drug that reverses opioid overdoses, without a prescription without having to provide their name.
..... The aim is to drive down the stubbornly high drug overdose death toll in New Jersey. while New Jersey has been stable in the past few years compared with the soaring overdose death numbers in the United States on the whole, a staggering number of people die each year of overdoses in the state, the majority from opioids."
..... Since 2018, the number of overdose deaths in New Jersey has settled at more than 3,000 each year.
..... The preliminary death toll for 2022 stood at 2,647 at the end of November, according to the state Attorney General's Office. That put the state on track to dip below 3,000 for the first time since 2017.
..... "As we enter 2023, we are brining new resources to this battle to save lives," Murphy said in a statement from the state Department of Human Services. "Turning back this challenge requires constant vigilance from all of us, but this nation-leading policy will ensure that a crucial and lifesaving tool is put in the hands of more people, for free and anonymously, so we can save more precious lives and allow individuals struggling with addiction to seek treatment."
..... The state Department of Human Services has held periodic naloxone give-aways in recent years, but this effort will allow people to get free naloxone any day of the year from pharmacies signed up with the program.
..... Dr. Allen Masry, the president of the New Jersey branch of the American Society of Addiction Medicine, called the step "very significant."
..... Naloxone has been available in pharmacies for free if someone has health insurance and some organizations send it out free of charge, Masry said. But the ready availability of it to nearly everyone will be a game changer, he said.
..... Naloxone has "truly revolutionized keeping people alive after an overdose," he said, adding that it has a 100% success rate with heroin overdoses. The deadly synthetic opioid fentanyl requires heavier doses, "but in a lot of cases it's been lifesaving,: Masry said.
..... Naloxone cannot harm a user who is not overdosing, aside from a few unlikely risks., Masry said. So there is no fear that it will fall into the wrong hands, he said.
..... The program comes after the Murphy administration launched its Naloxone Distribution Program, which offers direct shipments of naloxone Online anytime to first responders, harm reduction agencies, county prosecutor's offices, libraries, shelters and others.
..... The program will be funded through a federal grant and will start soon, Human Services Commissioner Sarsh Adelman said in a statement.
..... Adelman urged anyone seeking adduction assistance to call 844-REACHNJ (732-2476), the state's 24/7 help line that helps people regardless of their insurance status.
..... Paul Ressler, who lost his son Corey, 22, to a heroin overdose in 2010 and went on to form an organization in his son's memory that taught people how to use naloxone, called the new program a "tremendous step forward," but he also highlighted a concern:training.
..... He is calling for the expansion of naloxone training and for it to include CPR and mouth-to-mouth resuscitation - measures overdose victims frequently need and which he trained people in.
..... Marsy said the New Jersey Harm Reduction Coalition offers Online training on how to administer naloxone.
..... After a hiatus, Reasler is again working to train people, this time through city of angels, a Hamilton-based organization that guides people to recover and support them.
..... Ressier has observed another improvement since he first dealt with the anger and pain of losing his son - the lessening of the stigma people feel when getting naloxone form the pharmacy, whether for themselves or a family member.

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