New law expands access to overdose “rescue” drug
The opioid overdose-reversal medication naloxone is now available without a prescription at pharmacies statewide thanks to a new state law signed recently by Gov. Pat McCrory.
The move is North Carolina’s latest step to address the rising incidence of opioid overdose deaths in the state. Approximately 1,000 people die from opioid overdose in NC each year.
Session Law 2016-17 authorizes North Carolina pharmacies to begin providing the drug naloxone, also known as Narcan, to opioid users and/or family members of opioid users without a prescription. Previously, the medication could be dispensed only with a prescription or with a standing order issued by a physician. The new law allows NC’s State Health Director, Randall Williams, M.D., to issue a statewide standing order that applies generally to all patients and pharmacies. North Carolina is the third state in the country to issue a statewide standing prescription order for naloxone. Session Law 2016-17 took effect on June 20.
Naloxone prevents opioid overdose by blocking the brain’s opioid receptors. This averts respiratory depression, which is the typical cause of death in cases of opioid overdose. Naloxone is harmless to people who are not experiencing opioid overdose.
Naloxone is typically administered through an injection, but a nasal spray formula won approval by the US Food and Drug Administration in November.
