LIFESAVING DRUG
Albuquerque launching campaign to raise awareness about Narcan
The big ads on Albuquerque buses and other city properties will soon promote a drug that can save lives by reversing the effects of an overdose.
Those huge ads on Albuquerque buses soon will include a pitch for a drug that can save lives by reversing the effects of an overdose.
Advertisements for the drug naloxone, also known by the brand-name Narcan, also will appear at other cityowned properties, including bus shelters and community centers.
The purpose of the public awareness campaign is to encourage anyone who keeps narcotic painkillers around the house, or has a family member who uses heroin, to keep an emergency dose of Narcan on hand.
“The lifesaving potential of naloxone has not been well publicized until just recently,” Albuquerque City Councilor Diane Gibson said at a news conference Tuesday to announce the effort.
Narcan “is available in many drug stores right now here in Bernalillo County,” Gibson said. “One of my goals is that every pharmacy in Albuquerque will carry it very soon.”
Narcan is available at 22 pharmacies in Bernalillo County, including eight Walgreens stores, five Smiths Food and Drug Centers, and a several independent drug stores.
New Mexico’s drug overdose death rate was second only to West Virginia’s in 2014. That year, a record 536 New Mexicans died of drug overdoses, up 19 percent from 2013.
Prescr ipt ion opioids accounted for about half of overdose deaths. Another 154 died of heroin overdoses.
The city effort is part of a statewide public awareness campaign organized by the New Mexico Department of Human Services.
Narcan is sprayed into the nose of someone overdosing on opioid drugs, such as heroin, and common prescription painkillers, such as oxycodone and hydrocodone.
Narcan “is very safe,” said Jennifer Weiss-Burke, who lost her son to a heroin overdose in 2011. “You don’t have to worry about administering it the wrong way. You get a few minutes training on how to use it and you are good to go.”
State officials Tuesday said they don’t know how many pharmacies stock naloxone statewide.
Gov. Susana Martinez signed a bill into law last month that expands access to naloxone by making it readily available to opioid users as well as to their families, friends, community groups and programs.
The law also shields people who administer naloxone from civil liability or criminal prosecution.
“If you have an extra glass of wine one night with your pain meds, you might overdose,” Weiss-Burke said. “Your family needs to understand that and know what the signs are.”