Free Narcan training, distribution in Jackson Tuesday

     In this Tuesday Feb. 27, 2012 photo, a tube of Naloxone Hydrochloride, also known as Narcan, is shown for scale next to a lipstick container. Narcan is a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses. The drug counteracts the effects of heroin, OxyContin and other powerful painkillers and has been routinely used by ambulance crews and emergency rooms in the U.S. and other countries for decades. But in the past few years, public health officials across the nation have been distributing it free to addicts and their loved ones, as well as to some police and firefighters. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

    In this Tuesday Feb. 27, 2012 photo, a tube of Naloxone Hydrochloride, also known as Narcan, is shown for scale next to a lipstick container. Narcan is a nasal spray used as an antidote for opiate drug overdoses. The drug counteracts the effects of heroin, OxyContin and other powerful painkillers and has been routinely used by ambulance crews and emergency rooms in the U.S. and other countries for decades. But in the past few years, public health officials across the nation have been distributing it free to addicts and their loved ones, as well as to some police and firefighters. (AP Photo/Charles Krupa)

    With opiate addiction increasing in Ocean County, the Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office and the Ocean County Opiate Task Force are sponsoring a free training on Tuesday, Dec. 16 on how to administer an overdose antidote, authorities announced. 

    The program, slated for 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. at Hope Cathedral Church at 46 Bennetts Mills Road in Jackson, is open to the public. No pre-registration is necessary. 

    Participants will learn how to administer naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, which counters the effects of heroin and morphine. 

    In addition, organizers will distribute 75 Narcan kits.

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    The program is in cooperation with Project Lazarus, an Ocean County nonprofit organization that works to bring drug awareness and recovery support to the community. 

    “To date, we have had 122 Narcan reversals in Ocean County,” said Ocean County Prosecutor’s Office Communications Director Al Della Fave. “Narcan is not the solution to the addiction crisis in our county. It is, however, the first step in saving a life, and we will continue to educate and assist the public in an effort to reduce the overdose deaths in this county.”

    Data reveals that Ocean County is ground zero for New Jersey’s opiate problem, with the highest number of treatment admissions out of all counties last year — more than double the amount in 2008 — according to a report by NJ Spotlight.  

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