WASHINGTON — To help fight a spike in opioid overdose deaths, Virginia has become one of only a handful of states to allow anyone to get a drug that can counteract the effects of an overdose.
It’s called Naloxone and if administered in the first few minutes of an overdose, it can save a person’s life.
“When it comes to an overdose, when the brain is deprived of oxygen, every second counts,” said Ginny Atwood. Atwood began the Chris Atwood Foundation after losing her brother to a heroin overdose in 2013.
Virginia Gov. Terry McAullife recently signed an emergency law that will give anyone who believes they need Naloxone the ability to get it from a pharmacy without a prescription. The hope is friends and family of at-risk individuals can have Naloxone nearby in case of an overdose.
“Nobody should have to come home and find that their love one is unresponsive and there’s nothing they can do about it,” Atwood said.
The law also comes with provisions that provide civil protections for those who administer the drug to someone suffering from an overdose.
“Expanding access to Naloxone for all laypersons and providing immunity from liability are essential strategies to combat the continued increase of opioid overdoses in Virginia,” said Dr. Debra Ferguson with the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
The Chris Atwood Foundation and Spirit Works Foundation will be offering a Naloxone training session on Saturday, June 6, in Annandale. Atwood says those who attend the free course will also learn how to recognize an overdose and what to do after the drug has been given.
“I encourage any Virginian, who has a loved one struggling with opioid abuse, to take the REVIVE! training and get Naloxone,” Ferguson said.
Ginny Atwood would like to see Naloxone in every first aid kit. The drug can do more than help those with known heroin or pain medication addictions — it can also help those who overdose on any kind of opioid drug, she said.
At first, it might not be as easy as going to the nearest drugstore. Ordering and dispensing the drug won’t be required of pharmacies in the commonwealth. Pharmacies instead must elect to offer Naloxone and must then work with a doctor in obtaining the opioid antagonist.
Also, the Virginia Board of Pharmacy still hasn’t agreed on the guidelines pharmacists must follow. It will meet June 15 to determine what rules pharmacies must abide by if they choose to dispense Naloxone.
Atwood hopes pharmacies will see the benefits of offering the drug, and choose to offer Naloxone. She says this law could have made a difference in her life if she had it when she found her brother unresponsive from a heroin overdose.
“If I had Naloxone on that day, there’s a chance that I could have been able to save him,” Atwood said.
Editor’s Note: This story has been modified to correct information provided by the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services.
