New Jersey may require Narcan in high schools
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)
A New Jersey lawmaker wants to require all high schools in the state to have a supply of Narcan, the drug that can reverse heroin and opioid overdoes.
Assemblyman Vince Mazzeo says making it mandatory for schools to carry Narcan could be a life-saver.
“I haven’t seen anything where we heard about a death in the high school itself but this is an epidemic. We’re being proactive and they have this on hand in case something happens, a person comes in high and overdoses, how do we handle it?”
Mazzeo says his proposed legislation would give immunity from liability to school nurses and designated employees who dispense Narcan.
“They’re going to be trained to use it and god forbid if something happens and it doesn’t work out, they’re not going to be liable and that’s a good thing because we’re just trying to do something good here and try to save a life.”
The bill would also allow school districts to enter into shared services arrangements to help reduce the costs of purchasing Narcan.
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