News Talk 94.1/AM 1600 Where The Upper Cumberland Talks
Drug users across the Upper Cumberland are now carrying Narcan, causing conflicting opinions on its availability.
Narcan can help save a life during a drug overdose, by helping to keep someone breathing. Regional Overdose Prevention Specialist Suzanne Angel said that access to Narcan has saved more lives rather than encourage substance abuse.
“Study after study shows that harm reduction techniques actually save lives,” Angel said. “They don’t encourage substance use. People with use disorders use knowing the risk that they could die at any time.”
Sheriff Eddie Farris said that groups of drug addicts will have someone designated to have Narcan and that designated person is responsible for keeping the others alive while they use the drug Fentanyl.
“They will put their life in their hands to bring them back,” Farris said. “I’m not a big fan of that, we use it, our deputies carry it for each other, we don’t use it out here in the community. We do use it inside the jail to try to keep people living and bring people back, but ever since that’s been made to the public it has been very nuisance to us and it certainly has increased overdoses across the country.”
Narcan was patented in 1961 and FDA approved in 1971. Tennessee legalized Narcan nasal spray to be sold over the counter without a prescription, in March, 2023.
“Naloxone Narcan does not cure use disorder,” Angel said. “But it does restore breathing, and not everybody that overdoses even has an addiction.”
Angel said that the Upper Cumberland has done a good job of keeping people aware of substance abuse.
“I think our prevention coalitions, our schools, our health care providers, our department of health, mental health and substance abuse services, have done a really good job in letting people know that misuse of prescription drugs is dangerous,” Angel said.
If you need treatment for substance abuse call the Tennessee Redline at 1-800-889-9789 or reach out to your local drug prevention coalition.
