Community organizations can get free naloxone from the state through an online portal.
Naloxone, also known by its brand name, Narcan, is a medication to reverse opioid overdose.
Andrea Taverna is with the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services.
She says non-profit organizations, medical providers, small businesses and jails could benefit from free naloxone.
"So we know that one of the populations that has the highest overdose rates are individuals leaving incarceration," Taverna said. "So we’re hopeful that jails, first responders, SUD treatment providers, really a wide range of organizations will take advantage of this."
She says organization’s need to have plans for how they'll distribute the naloxone and train people to use it.
"And what we’re really looking for there is just the organization’s plan for distributing the naloxone, how they’ll offer it to individuals who are at high risk of overdose, and how they’ll provide the brief training that’s needed to help individuals understand how to use the naloxone," she said.
In 20-18, five people in Michigan died of an overdose each day, on average.
PHOTO CREDIT:"Province puts more naloxone into the hands of British Columbians to save lives" by BC Gov Photos is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0