A drug that can reverse the impacts of an opioid overdose will now be available in Walgreens stores across the country.
The company announced last week that it would make Narcan available without a prescription.
Pat McGinn is the Executive Officer of Harbor Hall, an addiction treatment center in Northern Michigan. He said making the drug readily available is a good thing.
“Narcan has been around for some time and we’ve known for a long time that it saves lives. It’s been in the hands of EMS folks for several years now. Having it in drug stores now is really, really important.”
McGinn said some critics initially had concerns about making Narcan available.
“There was a concern that if it was available openly that people would use it as a mechanism to use more. But the research has shown that it is safe and it is effective and it is saving lives.”
Last year opioid-related overdose deaths continued to break records at some 14-hundred statewide.