So I haven’t ran seen this posted so I apologize if this is over talked about.

So I am an EMT-A (it means almost paramedic in my state.) and I have been on a lot of OD calls which is always sad, but you know. It’s the job. The drug we carry on ambulance is called Narcan. It has the power to reverse a narcotic or opioid overdose and it’s a nasal injection. You can buy it over the counter in 46 states including mine. I get calls all the time from over dosing and drug friends are like “I gave him the drug. I don’t know why it isn’t working.” And then they get mad that we still have to come. (Because Narcan isn’t magic. You still need more medical intervention.) There’s a big thing with drug users taking turns getting high and watching each other and using the drug to save them. It’s basically become a way to not be worried about how much you take.

It’s a life saving drug, but it’s incredibly dangerous to give. The patient has extreme violent tendencies when waking up. A friend of mine who’s a paramedic once gave it to a guy and he wasn’t restrained properly and he did $10,000 of damage to the ambulance and did a serious number to her as well. I go back and forth on the issue because while it is saving lives, I feel like it’s become a way to get “safely high” and it’s actually not that safe. I feel like it’s giving people a tool to skate on the edge of death and MAYBE come back from it. (Narcan has to be given in a certain window to work.) The other issue is the “friends” don’t alway wait to make sure the first user to safe before getting high themselves and then there is no one to call 911 or administer the drug.

So should Narcan be over the counter? I’m honestly so torn about this.