Why naloxone is free and why you should get it
Sep. 25, 2024
By Mary Wade Burnside
When the Monongalia County Quick Response Team (QRT) launched our first Save a Life Day three years ago, we had no idea how popular the event would become.
Since then, we’ve handed out thousands of doses of lifesaving naloxone, which attaches to opioid receptors and reverses the effects of an overdose.
And we’ve placed that medication in the hands of community members, people of all ages.
After all, anybody can experience an overdose. A child getting into a medicine cabinet. An individual with memory issues taking the wrong dose of a prescription.
Young people experimenting with what they believe to be recreational drugs which, unknown to them, could be laced with deadly fentanyl.
And yes, those who are dealing with substance use disorder, which can happen for a variety of reasons, including mental issues or a legitimate prescribed pain medication that got out of control.
The next Appalachia-wide Free Naloxone Day, as it’s called now, will take place from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 26, at locations around Monongalia County. Go to monchd.org/services/naloxone-narcan and click on “Free Naloxone Day” to learn more.
It’s a great time to discuss the importance of naloxone, especially because we know that not everyone understands this life-saving medication.
We’ve seen the comments on social media.
“Why can’t I get my insulin for free?”
Or, “Why does my EpiPen cost so much but people don’t have to pay for naloxone?”
These are great questions. After all, until recently, the cost of insulin had become so expensive that some diabetes patients were having to make choices between their health and other necessities.
Joe Klass of Monongalia County Health Department’s Threat Preparedness program as well as a paramedic, noted another difference: It’s easy to train someone how to use naloxone and it doesn’t hurt someone even if there hasn’t been an opioid overdose.
Also, insulin is a prescribed medication that an individual must take at specific times, while naloxone is something that people need to have nearby in order to treat someone who is having an overdose.
“We’re in a situation in this country where we are having over 100,000 deaths in a year due to drug overdoses,” said Lindsay Acree, the University of Charleston’s Director of Experiential Education and an assistant professor at UC’s School of Pharmacy.
“When somebody is experiencing an opioid overdose, they can’t administer it to themselves,” added Acree, who is also a member of the Monongalia County QRT. “It has to be in the hands of others so they can administer it to save a life.
“Getting it out there increases the likelihood” that a community member who has naloxone “is going to be the person who finds that individual and may possibly be able to help them.”
Naloxone obtained by UC mostly comes via the State Opioid Response (SOR) funds through the United States Department of Health and Human Services’ Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA). In some counties, settlement funds from the pharmaceutical companies that helped drive the epidemic may also help pay for the medication.
This year, 14,628 two-dose naloxone kits will be spread among West Virginia’s 55 counties for the Sept. 26 event, Acree said. Monongalia County will receive 1,404 kits, or 2,808 doses, from the state.
Monongalia County Health Department launched the multi-agency, collaborative QRT in the spring of 2019 after receiving grant funding, and held its first Save a Life Day in September 2021.
“This is one tool that we have to address the overdose crisis,” said QRT coordinator Brittany Irick, who also works as a grant writer at Monongalia County Health Department.
She notes that West Virginia has the highest number of kids in foster care, many due to parents with SUD.
“It can help a parent get their children back,” Irick noted. “And it’s preventing future generations from drug use and substance use disorder.”
There is good news, however. Just this week, Dr. Rahul Gupta, the former director of the West Virginia Bureau for Public Health who now serves as the head of the U.S. Office of Drug Control Policy, told National Public Radio that there has been a significant drop in overdose deaths in the past five months. The drop has been attributed in a large part to naloxone.
So please consider stopping by one of our locations on Thursday and picking some up. You never know whose life you might save.
Mary Wade Burnside is the public information officer at Monongalia County Health Department.