Naloxone saves lives, but should you get it?

This story was originally published by NEXTpittsburgh, a news partner of PublicSource. NEXTpittsburgh features the people, projects and places advancing the region and the innovative and cool things happening here. Sign up to get their free newsletter.

Naloxone — the drug commonly known as NARCAN — is a life-saving miracle drug, says Alice Bell, director of Prevention Point Pittsburgh’s overdose prevention project. But there might not be a reason for everyone to carry naloxone.

“It’s not that everybody in America needs to have naloxone, but people who use these drugs need to have access to naloxone,” Bell says. People who use drugs are the ones saving lives with naloxone because they’re often nearest to other users.

“Sure, if you’re walking down the street, you could encounter somebody and if you had naloxone on you, you might save a life, but if you don’t have it, you whip out your phone and you call 911 and hopefully they get there in time,” Bell says.

The drug, which is available as an injectable or nasal spray, quickly blocks opioids from reaching brain receptors, canceling out their deadly, breath-slowing effects.

Even though naloxone saves lives, the large amount of attention it’s received in recent years has led public perception away from other aspects of harm reduction — a philosophy that recognizes drug use has occurred and will continue to occur, and seeks to mitigate the damage.

“It used to be that nobody knew what harm reduction was — they never heard that,” Bell says. “If you were writing a federal grant for funding and you included the term ‘harm reduction,’ you would not get funded. Now, often, you have to include that term in order to get funded.

“On the one hand, it’s heartening that people know more about it and it’s become more broadly accepted. On the other hand, as there’s a lot of money going into naloxone distribution, it becomes watered down.”

Prevention Point started in 1995 as a volunteer organization that distributed sterile injection equipment and biohazard containers in exchange for used syringes on a street corner in Uptown. Bell moved to Pittsburgh and joined the organization in 1997.

“The core of harm reduction has always been syringe distribution,” Bell says. “In a medical setting, you would never think in a million years that they would reuse a syringe. Why should anyone reuse a syringe or share a syringe with somebody else? People should have access to that basic public health need.”

Sterile needles reduce the spread of bloodborne diseases like HIV and Hepatitis C, which saves both lives and money, Bell says.

HIV treatment can cost upward of $36,000 per year, according to the Journal of the American Medical Association, and Hepatitis C treatment between $40,000 and $95,000 for a 12-week treatment cycle, according to Healthline.

Some detractors think syringe services promote drug use. Instead, Bell draws a comparison to sexual education: A 15-year-old who wants to have sex often doesn’t wait until he or she has access to condoms, she says.

“I’ve never heard anybody — in 25 years of doing this — say, ‘I’ve always wanted to use heroin, but I just can’t seem to find a sterile syringe. If I could then I would,’” Bell says. “It doesn’t work that way. People do it regardless of whether they have access.”

To Bell, continued positive change hinges on a public understanding of harm reduction. Legislators have been reluctant to vote in favor of syringe services out of fear of constituent opposition. Voicing your support could lead to better legislation that would save lives, she says.

And a phone call or letter doesn’t require naloxone in your glove compartment.

“We’ve spent billions of dollars over the years trying to eradicate drug use and it has been completely unsuccessful,” Bell says. “There are more overdose deaths than ever. The drugs on the street are stronger than they’ve ever been — and less predictable. If we looked at drug use as a health issue and tried to address the health issues related to it, we might make some progress on it.”

Where to get naloxone

Naloxone is available to all Pennsylvania residents at pharmacies over the counter or with a prescription. Bell says the drug has almost no side effects, but that too high a dose could cause the rapid onset of withdrawal symptoms. Allegheny County’s webpage on the drug specifically notes that administration to someone who is not experiencing an overdose is not dangerous.

Once administered, call 911, as naloxone does not completely neutralize an overdose and wears off after 30 to 90 minutes. Bell recommends keeping multiple smaller doses of the drug on hand to better stabilize an individual without causing withdrawal symptoms.

Some community groups — like Prevention Point — offer free naloxone, especially to those “first responders” who are likely to encounter overdoses. Prevention Point also offers a mail service through NEXT Distro.

A full list of Pennsylvania overdose prevention programs and other resources is available through an interactive map created by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency.

Roman Hladio is a reporter for NEXTpittsburgh. He wants to hear the stories created in Pittsburgh. When not reporting, he plays difficult video games that make him upset and attempts to make delicious meals out of mismatched leftovers.

Know more than you did before? Support this work with a gift!

Readers tell us they can't find the information they get from our reporting anywhere else, and we're proud to provide this important service for our community. We work hard to produce accurate, timely, impactful journalism without paywalls that keeps our region informed and moving forward.

However, only about .1% of the people who read our stories contribute to our work financially. Our newsroom depends on the generosity of readers like yourself to make our high-quality local journalism possible, and the costs of the resources it takes to produce it have been rising, so each member means a lot to us.

Your donation to our nonprofit newsroom helps ensure everyone in Allegheny County can stay up-to-date about decisions and events that affect them. Please make your gift of support now.