ROCK HILL, S.C. — Rock Hill police officers are now carrying a powerful antidote to reverse opioid overdoses, Channel 9's partner, The Herald, reported.
Officers have been trained how to administer Naloxone, a drug that blocks the effects of opioids, making it possible for a person to survive.
Paramedics have carried the drug, with the brand name Narcan, since the 1970s, but now about 90 officers will carry it as well.
The department said it’s important to have access to the drug because of the uptick in overdoses in York County and across the nation.
Heroin-overdose deaths in York County rose from zero in 2011 to nine in 2015, city and county officials said at a June news conference. The York County Coroner’s Office investigated seven heroin deaths in the first seven months of 2016.
“We’re seeing a lot nationwide of overdoses and overdose deaths, and it’s starting to make its way into South Carolina and York County. We’re trying to get ahead of the curve here and just have this tool, so if we come across this, hopefully we can save someone’s life,” Rock Hill police Maj. Steven Thompson said.
Narcan can be administered in a nasal spray or EpiPen injection and will not harm someone who is not overdosing.
The police department chose the spray, which costs about $75 for two doses; the injections run about $3,800. The cost is covered by a grant through the Law Enforcement Officer Naloxone Toolkit, according to Thompson.
“I hope we never have to use it,” he said. “But if we do, if we can save just one life, then it’s well worth it,” Thompson said.
North Carolina Gov. Pat McCrory signed a bill into law in June that allows pharmacies to distribute naloxone without a prescription.
North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition employees have distributed more than 26,000 kits throughout the state since August 2013. A total of 3,000 overdoses have been reversed in the state since May 23.
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Cox Media Group
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