JERSEY CITY, N.J. (CBSNewYork) – In an effort to combat the opioid crisis in New Jersey, health and law enforcement officials on Thursday started handing out naloxone – also known as Narcan – the medication used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency.
For the next three days, state officials will be at pharmacies across New Jersey giving out naloxone for free and encouraging people to pick it up, CBS2’s Jenna DeAngelis reported.
“I recently, as of less than a year ago, lost a cousin, a young cousin, only 21 years old to an overdose and I think this could have saved his life had this been in his household,” said Gloria Manderville, of Jersey City.
Manderville said she’s making sure she’s ready to help others if an emergency arises.
“The only thing you can do at that point is call 911 and hope that they get there in time. I know in this case with my cousin, 911 didn’t get there in time,” she said.
Walgreens on John F. Kennedy Boulevard is among 300 pharmacies in New Jersey participating in the free distribution of naloxone over the next three weeks.
A pharmacist there showed CBS2 how simple it is to use.
“… you would administer in the nostrils, one spray and another spray, as well,” said Jay Darji.
Grim numbers from the state health department show there have been more than 2,000 suspected drug-related deaths in 2020, compared to about 3,000 in all of 2019.
In May, New Jersey had the highest number of suspected drug-related deaths in any month.
“What we saw at the peak of the pandemic was a surge in opioid related overdoses, but they started to level off again between June and July. But, one overdose is one too many, so we take no comfort in that. We’re continuing to fight that,” said Department of Human Services Commissioner Carole Johnson.
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The department distributed tens of thousands of free doses to police departments and EMS teams, as well as 1,200 shelters and hundreds of libraries.
The state said so far in 2020, Narcan has been used more than 10,000 times by first responders.
It’s a life saving measure that anyone can have on hand.
“We’re making Narcan available for free. You don’t need to give your name. You don’t need to have insurance. You don’t need to have an appointment. You can just come in to one of any 300 participating pharmacies,” Johnson said.
Anyone picking up naloxone will also get information on addiction treatment and recovery.
Last year, the state gave out 32,000 doses in a one day giveaway. This year, they’re looking to double that over the next three days.
LINK: Click here for a list of pharmacies participating in New Jersey’s naloxone giveaway.
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