Advocates are speaking out against a bill redefining who can receive free opioid reversal kits from the state.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, can reverse an opioid overdose and can be administered without medical training, either through a nasal spray or a subcutaneous injection. In the past, Idaho’s behavioral health division budget allowed a broad range of organizations to request free naloxone kits, including shelters, clinics, recovery centers and safe syringe exchange programs.
The new bill would restrict distribution to first responders only.
In an email, the director of the Idaho Harm Reduction Project Marjorie Wilson wrote only 25% of the kits currently distributed by their program were given to places like law enforcement, emergency medical services and fire departments.
She said if funding is limited to just first responders, programs that formerly received free kits would no longer be eligible and may not be able to afford them.
“Response times of first responders, especially in Idaho’s rural communities, can be a matter of life and death when it comes to opioid overdose,” she said. “Every minute counts when reversing an overdose.”
This move comes as fentanyl overdoses in Idaho, and across the country, are on the rise. If signed into law, Wilson says this new restriction would lead to “needless deaths” in Idaho.
“Just as community members should be equipped with the lifesaving skills of CPR, they should also be equipped with the lifesaving medication naloxone,” she said.
The project reported more than 1,200 overdose reversals last year, 94% of which were administered by non-first responders.
