Police in Twin Falls are now equipped with Narcan, the drug able to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. The addition of the medication to law enforcement officer’s toolbox could potentially save lives.
Twin Falls PD started looking into Narcan about nine months ago after seeing heroin use go up in the community. Following several training sessions throughout October, Twin Falls police are now equipped with the anti-overdose drug.
“In terms of it being a tool to help us protect and preserve life, it’s very important,” says Lt. Terry Thueson, the Twin Falls PD public information officer.
He calls the opioid epidemic sweeping the country more than an addiction problem; it’s a health crisis, he says.
“We’re going to use this as one component associated with education and enforcement to better respond to the drug situation in Twin Falls,” Thueson says.
As opioid use increases in the city, meth remains a predominant drug according to law enforcement.
Twin Falls is using the nasal spray version of Narcan. Thueson describes what an officer responding to an overdose will do: “The officer will deploy the Narcan by inserting the tube into a nostril and depressing it, administering the drug. It’s [misted] into the nasal cavity where it’s absorbed into the bloodstream.”
The patient should come out of the overdose within a couple minutes.
Twin Falls Police join officers in Nampa and Caldwell who are also equipped with Narcan.
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