Latest Step In Battle Against Heroin Epidemic In Montco
By Jim Melwert
NORRISTOWN, Pa. (CBS) - After 64 deaths from heroin or opioid overdoses in 2014, Montgomery County officials continue to take steps to fight the epidemic.
The latest announcement allows the sale of an anti-overdose drug to be offered at pharmacies in the county.
Montgomery County Commissioner and acting medical director Val Arkoosh issued the order allowing any licensed pharmacy in the county the option to dispense Naloxone.
The drug can be purchased without prescription by anyone at risk of an overdose, or by close friends or family of someone at risk. It blocks or reverses the effects of opioid medication and is used to treat narcotic overdoses, and is harmless to anyone not overdosing.
State law allows first responders, including police, to administer Naloxone.
County officials say it's been used 16 times in the county since April. It also offers immunity from prosecution to anyone who reports an overdose.