In 2021, more than 600 Mainers lost their lives to substance use disorder. While that number is higher than any previous year, that number would have been 15 times higher without Naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist and the only thing available to reverse an overdose. You can't look at someone and know they are using substances. One in 12 people in the United States have Substance Use Disorder, so the odds that you know someone who uses are pretty high. The more people carry Naloxone, the more likely lives will be saved. People can't recover if they do not survive an overdose.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is drug that blocks the absorption of opioids in the brain at the receptor-level. Opioids effect our respiration, which is why someone suffering from an overdose may stop breathing. By blocking opioid absorption, naloxone pauses its effects in the body. Naloxone saves lives by restoring the person’s breathing. Narcan is not a replacement for calling 911, but can save the person’s life while emergency medical personnel are on the way.
It is FDA approved and can be administered easily via a nasal spray. Even a child can do it. It was intentionally developed for use by those without medical training who may arrive at the scene first, such as friends or family.
Narcan (naloxone) is a critical harm reduction tool. Just as we have a fire extinguisher in every building and house to protect us in the event of a fire, we should also have Narcan readily available at all times.
Healthy Acadia provides free Narcan (naloxone) kits and training to those who want it, and an increasing amount of other public health organizations and health providers are doing the same. Join this training to receive a kit and learn more about it. This is an in-person class.
Beth Alteri of Healthy Acadia, works recruiting and supporting volunteers; works with the Substance Use and Prevention Team to increase community knowledge about Substance Use Disorder and to distribute and train people in the community about harm reduction tools such as Naloxone; provides coordination and support at the INSPIRE Recovery Center; supervises the Hancock County Maine Recovery Core interns and is a CCAR trained Recovery Coach.
Beth is a mother of three, teaches Zumba at the Downeast Family YMCA and is a member of the Ellsworth School Department School Board. Contact Beth by email at Beth.Alteri@HealthyAcadia.org.
