Narcan approved for over the counter sale. What happened to don't do drugs?

[dogs4thewin]

Who's going to buy it? The addicts?
I had a nephew, who died of an overdose. He would lie, beg, scrounge and steal (spent time in prison for theft before his death) for every penny to support his habit.
He would have not walked into a CVS to pick up Narcan, and if I was to buy it for him to keep, just in case, he would find a way to sell it for $$$ to support his habit.

Sometimes the addicts will buy it or there have been cases where other people have bought it to have in case because overdoses are so common.

 

[Arcangl86]

I know several pastors who have churches in distressed areas and they actually got trained in how to use the Narcan needles just in case it was needed.

 

[PsaltiChrysostom]

Peak sadomoralism.

Reminds me of Airplane

 

[Pommer]

People dying of opioid abuse is only a concern with regards to the “border crisis”.
Otherwise it’s “let the junkies die!”
Charming.

 

[Pommer]

I know several pastors who have churches in distressed areas and they actually got trained in how to use the Narcan needles just in case it was needed.

I believe the OTC product is a nasal spray.

 

[Arcangl86]

I believe the OTC product is a nasal spray.

Which is why I think they have been approved for OTC. They don't require any training.

 

[RileyG]

I believe the OTC product is a nasal spray.

Yes. That's what was used at my former workplace.

That's my understanding as well.

 

[durangodawood]

Peak sadomoralism.

I learned a new word today.

 

[FireDragon76]

I thought this was already the case. If not, it is about darn time. The reality is that most of the people that end up needing Narcan either A started out with a need and prescription for it and got hooked when lawful supply was denied they could not stop, B they were in so pain that they tracked some down anyway after prescription rules got tighten or in some cases they actually suffered an OD from exposure that was COMPLETELY accidental via touching something. Most of the time, it is actually the first option that people that is that need prescriptions and get hooked. It is not like other drugs where people start out of peer pressure or just to "try it out" Does that happen some sure, but not nearly as often as with prior drugs and sense there is something that can be done (Narcan) to counteract such overdoes that should be done.

Around this past Easter we lost a casual attendee at our church because they got hold of some opioids off the street that were laced with fentanyl. They weren't addicts, just looking for pain relief. They were too poor to go to a doctor, and used to life on the street. This was right around the time period when news about widespread lacing of opioids with fentanyl was just starting to come out.

 

[That Guy 11200]

You don't have to be an addict to be affected by fentanyl. It's an extremely potent drug.

In some cases, fentanyl can kill you just by being around it, you don't actually have to ingest it intentionally. It happens to police all the time, and also sometimes to children. Some public places are keeping Narcan in first aid kids because overdoses aren't too uncommon in some parts of the country.

How many cases?

 

[dogs4thewin]

How many cases?

How many total cases of overdoses or how many are accidental through touch?

 

[Desk trauma]

I learned a new word today.

I must credit the proprietor of the DrugWarRant blog, he coined the term.

 

[Desk trauma]

How many cases?

Few if any, it’s cops having panic attacks mainly.

 

[Pommer]

Few if any, it’s cops having panic attacks mainly.

Or being addicted but blaming “touching the evidence”.
Yes.

 

[Landon Caeli]

when you do drugs and overdose just use this and you can save a dopeheads life so they can live to do more drugs later

Do all drug addicts deserve to die? What about alcoholics?

 

[Landon Caeli]

When I was a kid we had slogans like don't do drugs, DARE officers came to our schools and talked about drugs, comic books had little ads about not doing drugs, cartoons would sometimes have little messages about not doing drugs and so on. What happened to all of that?

They banned it because it caused people to hate addicts, and wish death upon them.

 

[JustOneWay]

They banned it because it caused people to hate addicts, and wish death upon them.

Well that is completely untrue, and D.A.R.E is still doing the work in 50 states.

Why would you say such a false thing? It was not funny.

 

[Landon Caeli]

Well that is completely untrue, and D.A.R.E is still doing the work in 50 states.

Why would you say such a false thing? It was not funny.

The OP said he thinks drug addicts should die. Obviously you agree with that sentiment?

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Narcan which is used for opioid overdoses can now be bought over the counter.

https://www.fda.gov/news-events/pre...roves-first-over-counter-naloxone-nasal-spray

https://news.walgreens.com/press-ce...pray-will-become-available-this-september.htm

What is this? To me this pretty much says "when you do drugs and overdose just use this and you can save a dopeheads life so they can live to do more drugs later". This is essentially approving drug use and diminishes their negative effects. It makes opiod abuse a little more acceptable.

Hmmm...seems like you have a rather vindictive view of the situation.

I see Narcan OTC as a good thing. If there's something that can save the life of a person who made a mistake, how is that bad?

Do you take the same stance with regards to diabetics having easy access to insulin for when they eat something they know they shouldn't? Or would your position be "let fatso die, he knows he shouldn't be eating cake"?

When I was a kid we had slogans like don't do drugs, DARE officers came to our schools and talked about drugs, comic books had little ads about not doing drugs, cartoons would sometimes have little messages about not doing drugs and so on. What happened to all of that?

...well, they largely abandoned a lot of those efforts after it backfired quite spectacularly (like many of the "war on drugs" efforts). Turns out, when you tell all the kids that marijuana is just as bad as the hard drugs, and a few them try it and realize the adults were lying to them, some of them assume the adults were full of it about the other ones too.

If you were a 14 year old, and the adults just told you that pot ranked up there as one of the worst things you could ever do (with an exaggerated list of claims about it), and you tried it for the first time... had fun, laughed at some cartoons, ate some potato chips, and felt great 3 hours later, what would your takeaway be for the next time they warned you against something "super dangerous"?

We should be discouraging drug use, not normalizing it.

I don't think this "normalizes drug use"

A) Getting narcan amid an overdose isn't "cancels out all effects and the person has a great time". For anyone who's actually seen a person being given narcan amid an OD, they're still having a bad night. Basically, it restores breathing and normalizes the heart rhythm. It's not like the person takes a snort of narcan and says "I feel great, let's go party some more!"


B) Narcan comes with withdrawal side effects of its own, including body aches, fever, vomiting, and tremors. It's not as if getting the narcan is a fun experience. It's just the lesser of two evils compared to dying.

 

[Landon Caeli]

@JustOneWay, do you also call struggling addicts names like "dopehead", like in the OP?

...It seems like you support that sentiment. Is that right?