Wake deputies get anti-opiate drug naloxone for overdose cases

Wake County sheriff's deputies this week were issued the anti-opiate drug naloxone to carry on patrol and administer if they find someone who has stopped breathing because of an overdose, the sheriff's office said.

Law enforcement, EMS and police personnel across North Carolina and nationally have been issued the injectable drug in recent years to fight an increasing incidence of overdoses of heroin and heroin-like drugs.

North Carolina has seen a 565 percent increase in heroin-related deaths in the past six years, the sheriff’s office said in announcing the new equipment for its deputies.

The drug is frequently referred to by one of its brand names, Narcan.

In addition, a statement said, more than 1,000 people die annually from accidental overdoses of prescription drugs. Often, those are opiate pain-killers, it said.

The announcement from Wake County Sheriff Donnie Harrison came shortly before President Barack Obama proclaimed next week as Prescription Opioid and Heroin Epidemic Awareness Week.

The naloxone can block the effects of heroin and other opiates on the brain long enough for a person to resume breathing, the sheriff’s office said.

Sheriff Donnie Harrison said funding to issue the drug kits that include preloaded syringes came jointly from the North Carolina Harm Reduction Coalition and Alliance Behavior Healthcare.

This story was originally published September 16, 2016 at 12:19 PM with the headline "Wake deputies get anti-opiate drug naloxone for overdose cases."