Editorial

In fighting heroin overdoses, a key ally is often overlooked

November 27, 2011

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Few deaths from heroin overdose happen alone. A friend or relative is often standing by helplessly as a victim’s skin turns blue, pulse slows, and breathing stops. In 2008, 594 people died from accidental overdoses of heroin and other opioid drugs in Massachusetts. That’s why a promising state pilot program that gets a life-saving overdose-reversal drug called naloxone into the hands of friends and relatives of opioid addicts should be expanded to more communities.

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