Narcan Sees Wider Availability in the United States

Single dose of Narcan nasal spray (Jesse Costa)

Narcan is becoming more accessible in the United States, as overdose deaths reach a record high following the COVID-19 pandemic.

The widespread distribution of Narcan would help in curtailing the heightening death total caused by the opioid overdose epidemic. State and city governments across the nation have begun implementing programs to distribute the medication safely and effectively.

The implementation of these programs has begun a nationwide effort to combat the mortality rate of the opioid epidemic. In addition to responding to overdoses in hospitals, the programs will provide walk-in training and virtual or group training to individuals who are interested in obtaining Narcan for themselves.

“I don’t think it gets more open than what we’re doing now,” said Caroline Bailey, a Peer Recovery Specialist at CARES in Morris County, New Jersey.  “You can call us and we’ll mail Narcan, you can walk in and get it, we can come to you, or you can come and train to get it.”

In Delaware, the state’s Division of Public Health held a Narcan distribution event on Thursday, Nov. 18, for Bancroft construction workers at the University of Delaware. Similarly in Philadelphia, two Narcan dispensing machines have been planned to be installed in the West and South sides of the city, which are set to be open to the public by the end of the year.

The implementation of larger Narcan distribution programs follows a year in which drug overdoses have reached a record high. In the 12-month period spanning from April 2020 to April 2021, over 100,000 Americans died from overdose, the first time in which overdose deaths surpassed the six figure mark in the United States. The number of overdose deaths increased by almost 30 percent from the previous year, a figure of 78,000 deaths. 

The same provisional data from CDC’s National Center for Health Statistics attributes nearly 76,000 of these deaths to opioids. Along with the general increase in overdose deaths caused by opioids, deaths from synthetic opioids such as fentanyl and psychostimulants also increased in the 12-month period.

Naloxone, more commonly known by its brand name, Narcan, is a medication that blocks the effects of opioids and can be used to temporarily reverse an opioid overdose. The medication acts as an antagonist to opioids, blocking receptors, and thus its effects.

As a medication with no observable adverse reactions, it’s endorsement by city, state, and the federal government is unsurprising. According to research collected by the National Institute on Drug Abuse, a large-scale national study showed that opioid overdose deaths decreased by 14 percent in states that enacted naloxone access laws. Furthermore, statistical modeling has shown that high rates of naloxone distribution among the populace and emergency personnel could avert 21 percent of opioid overdose deaths.

To others, there is still much work to be done, especially for people who have limited access to medications such as Narcan.

Findings from naloxone distribution in 2018 by the CDC observes a high rate of distribution inequality. Rural counties were shown to have the lowest dispensing rates, as they were three times more likely to be a low-dispensing county compared to their metropolitan counterparts. Nationwide, only one naloxone prescription is dispensed for every 70 high-dose opioid prescriptions.

“We could have Narcan all over the city in drop boxes,” says Dr. Gail D’Onofrio, the chair of Yale’s Department of Emergency Medicine. “We need more medications and wrap-around services. It’s hard to stay in treatment when you are homeless and have nowhere to go but back with everyone else using.”

The implementation of the recent Narcan distribution programs have created optimism among experts and care workers for the United States’ efforts to combat the looming opioid crisis. However, these programs are just the beginning, as there is much more needed to be done.

“Narcan is one step, but it's like saving people upstream and then they fall back in the river downstream. Once you save them, you need the services,” said D'Onofrio.