MASSACHUSETTS is trying to save heroin users' lives with nasal spray. Since January, four pilot programs have been training heroin addicts, their family, friends, and treatment providers how to spot an overdose and spray a dose of Narcan into a victim's nose. The drug immediately reverses overdoses by blocking the brain receptors that heroin affects.
On Tuesday, the state announced that it has awarded $1.7 million in federal funds to 14 more organizations so they can prevent more overdoses using Narcan and other interventions. It's a good move, and one that should be backed by more resources.
To some, Narcan can sound like an enabler - a dubious chemical friend that provides a fast getaway. But the data don't support this contention, according to Michael Botticelli, the director of substance abuse services at the Department of Public Health. He makes the obvious point: "We have to keep people alive so that we can get them into treatment."
The need rages. Prescription drug abuse is rampant. Deaths from opioid-related overdoses jumped from 363 in 2000 to 637 in 2006. Behind the numbers are parents and friends fighting - and often losing - the battle against a loved one's addiction.
The Narcan training program covers the nasal spray and how to perform rescue breathing on people whose respiration has become dangerously slow. Participants are also encouraged to call 911 for medical help. Of 451 program enrollees, 300 are active drug users, and 46 say they have used Narcan to recover from an overdose.
The Department of Public Health is also training staff in 12 hospital emergency rooms to make referrals to treatment.
Still, Massachusetts should have more treatment programs. Medical students need more training in caring for substance abusing patients. Stronger public efforts could loosen heroin's poisonous grip.
