With classes underway in many sections of Kentucky, school officials are considering stocking a life-saving drug. It is being used to reverse the effects of an opioid related overdose.
Two doses of naloxone, in nasal spray form, are available free to school districts across the state. The opioid blocker can be given in the event of a heroin or prescription pain killer overdose. Office of Drug Control Policy Director Van Ingram says there were 12 hundred 48 fatal overdoses last year in Kentucky. “With those kinds of numbers of people dying of a preventable death, I would like to see schools with naloxone, factories, and colleges, and anyplace else that we can get it in the hands of.”
In addition to heroin, Ingram says there’s growing concern about fentanyl. He says it’s being produced illicitly and shipped into the U.S. Free training for school officials on the use of naloxone will be held September 14th in Lexington.?
