Governor Doug Ducey signed a bill last month that allows pharmacists to dispense a drug called Naloxone or Narcan for opioid overdoses without a prescription. Naloxone is a miracle drug, it can reverse an overdose in seconds.
As a paramedic I would find an overdose victim down in respiratory distress and barely breathing. I would start an IV and give the patient a dose of Naloxone. In most cases the within seconds the patient is breathing and is soon alert and oriented.
Pharmacies are over charging for various medications. When pharmacies placed quotas on pain medications, the cost for 90 100 mg extended release morphine tablets went from $200 to over $1000 at K-Mart in Kingman. Prices also went up on Naloxone, the drug used to save people from opioid overdoses.
Soon after a similar bill allowing the use of Naloxone passed in several states, one company raised the cost of their two pack of Naloxone from $575 to more than $3,700. I'm sorry but Naloxone is not an expensive drug, and should be given to anyone who takes opioid pain medications just in case of an overdose. In Dolan Springs this could mean the difference between life and death for an accidental overdose.
http://www.12news.com/news/local/arizona/prices-soar-on-drug-overdose-antidote/229180559
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