Police Learn to Administer Narcan in Case of Heroin Overdose

To combat the rising heroin overdose problem in Montgomery County, police officers will train to administer the drug naxolene, commonly known as Narcan, a medication that quickly reverses the effects of a heroin overdose.

From 2011 to 2013, heroin deaths in Maryland spiked by 88 percent, WTOP reports.

Gov. Larry Hogan has termed the issue a “heroin epidemic,” Patch previously reported.

In Montgomery County alone, there are an estimated 14,000 heroin users every day, says State Attorney John McCarthy. The use of the addictive drug has led to more deaths from overdose than homicides.

Now, Montgomery County police officers will begin carrying and administering Narcan in case they encounter a heroin overdose, WTOP reports.

The drug is administered through the nostrils then quickly absorbed in the bloodstream, reversing the effects of an overdose within a couple seconds, according to the news outlet. It can bring a person who is experiencing an overdose back from the brink of death.

“This gives us an additional edge so that if the officers are out there on patrol and we get a call for an overdose that occurs relatively close by we can respond immediately,” Officer Scott Davis, coordinator of the Montgomery County Police Crisis Intervention Team, told WTOP.

In 2014, Anne Arundel County Police officers were trained to administer Narcan, according to Patch. Annapolis Officer Justin Goods saved a man from a suspected heroin overdose ten minutes after he finished how to administer the drug.

But, while grateful for the medication, McCarthy also says the drug is allowing addicts to take bigger risks, WTOP reports.

“Narcan has emboldened some narcotics users to take riskier levels of narcotics to try for that better or higher high, thinking they can be saved at the back end,” McCarthy said.

Twenty-seven Montgomery County officers have already completed training to administer Narcan and now carry Narcan kits, WTOP reports. By March, about 80 officers are expected to carry the medication.

Read Also

• County, State Experience ‘Heroin Epidemic’
• Police to Carry, Administer Narcan in Case of Heroin Overdose
• Annapolis Officer Saves Heroin User Minutes After Completing Training