Overdose drug offered for free

Pa. officials to give out naloxone at 80 places throughout the state.

State officials will give out free naloxone — a medication that reverses an opioid overdose — at several Lehigh Valley locations next week.

Nearly 80 locations across the state will hand out naloxone to any Pennsylvania resident on Thursday as part of an ongoing effort to reduce the number of overdoses and deaths linked to opioids.

Naloxone can reverse an overdose caused by an opioid by blocking the effects of the opioid on the brain.

There is little doubt that without naloxone, the alarmingly high number of fatal overdoses would be much worse. In the Lehigh Valley, opioids killed 306 people last year, an increase from 215 fatal overdoses in 2016.

Naloxone will be available at nearly 80 locations across the state, primarily state and local health departments, as part of Gov. Tom Wolf ’s effort to reduce drug deaths and help get people into treatment, officials said.

“We want to ensure that through this opportunity for free naloxone, we can save even more lives and get more Pennsylvanians into treatment,” Wolf said. “Keeping naloxone in your home, work or even in your car can make the difference between getting someone into treatment or dying from this disease.”

Since November 2014, more than 20,000 people have been revived with naloxone, officials said.

The following locations will provide the free naloxone from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Thursday:

Lehigh County

Lehigh County State Health Center, 3730 Lehigh St., Suite 206, Whitehall Township

Allentown City Bureau of Health, Alliance Hall, 245 N. Sixth Street, Allentown

Northampton County

Northampton County State Health Center, 1600 Northampton St., Easton

Bethlehem City Bureau of Health, 10 E. Church St., Bethlehem

Bucks County

Bucks County Drug and Alcohol Commission, 600 Louis Drive, Suite 102A, Warminster

Southern Bucks Recovery Community Center, 1286 Veterans Highway, Suite 6D, Bristol

Quakertown Branch of the Bucks County Free Library, 401 West Mill Street, Quakertown

Monroe County

Monroe County State Health Center, 1972 West Main Street, Suite 102, Stroudsburg

Montgomery County

Montgomery County Office of Public Health, Norristown Center, 1430 DeKalb St., Norristown; Pottstown Center, 346 King St., Pottstown and Willow Grove Center, 102 York Road, Suite 401, Willow Grove