Increase access to Narcan

I am a senior nursing student at Quinnipiac in Hamden with a background in public health. Overdoses resulting in death in Connecticut are disproportionately high when compared with the federal average of 32.4 age-adjusted overdose deaths per 100,000 people. Our state’s rate of overdose death is 42.3 per 100,000 (CDC, 2021), making Connecticut residents 30 percent more likely to die of an overdose than the country on average. Moreover, the country’s overdose mortality rate is substantially higher than other high-income countries.

Residents are concerned. One resident had this to say — “I don’t want kids living here. To potentially have a child, and have that child get addicted to drugs because they’re everywhere, no thanks. Not after seeing my friends die.”

Although lifesaving interventions have been implemented, there needs to be increased awareness and access. Narcan, a lifesaving drug that exerts its effect only if a person is high on an opioid, is now available OTC per recent FDA approval. However, several towns do not sell Narcan due to retailers not having an OTC permit or prescribing authority. This presents a clear barrier to access.

Additionally, Narcan costs about $45 for those paying out-of-pocket., which is enough of a deterrent for most everyone.

Increasing access to Narcan such that overdoses resulting in death can be prevented is a crucial intervention in the opioid epidemic. While this is not a preventative measure against substance use disorder, people can only be treated if they are living. Funds should be allocated to afford children, mothers, fathers, cousins, friends, and loved ones a chance to survive.

Antoinette Higgins Hamden