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Naloxone does not perpetuate drug use. This governor has no idea how it works or how it saves lives. It's not just for junkies either.
Say an elderly person on opioids for chronic pain gets pneumonia and falls into respiratory depression due to having their disease and taking their medicine. Should they just die? Naloxone immediately reverses the action of opioids like hydrocodone, morphine, and heroin.
For one, junkies aren't going to use this stuff to tide them over to their next dose. If a junkie used naloxone they'd go into immediate opioid withdrawal. It's not something you take to cancel your fix and then go dope up in a few minutes.
Secondly, naloxone's action is roughly 1-2 hours in length. The opioid being used resulting in an overdose is likely going to be in the body at potentially lethal levels once the naloxone wares off. This is not a drug that you dispense and say it's a cure-all if you OD. If you use naloxone you must still go immediately to the ER for treatment. This is a basic counselling point all pharmacists should be sharing with their patients. Naloxone's purpose is to keep someone alive and tide them over until they can reach an ER.
Naloxone can save lives, and even if someone is a junkie why would you not want to try and save them? One may OD on opioids on accident or have other factors at play that put them in danger even with regular prescription use. There is no valid reason for the governor to veto the bill and I doubt he really understands what it does and what it's for. I'm glad many other states have not made this mistake.
Say an elderly person on opioids for chronic pain gets pneumonia and falls into respiratory depression due to having their disease and taking their medicine. Should they just die? Naloxone immediately reverses the action of opioids like hydrocodone, morphine, and heroin.
For one, junkies aren't going to use this stuff to tide them over to their next dose. If a junkie used naloxone they'd go into immediate opioid withdrawal. It's not something you take to cancel your fix and then go dope up in a few minutes.
Secondly, naloxone's action is roughly 1-2 hours in length. The opioid being used resulting in an overdose is likely going to be in the body at potentially lethal levels once the naloxone wares off. This is not a drug that you dispense and say it's a cure-all if you OD. If you use naloxone you must still go immediately to the ER for treatment. This is a basic counselling point all pharmacists should be sharing with their patients. Naloxone's purpose is to keep someone alive and tide them over until they can reach an ER.
Naloxone can save lives, and even if someone is a junkie why would you not want to try and save them? One may OD on opioids on accident or have other factors at play that put them in danger even with regular prescription use. There is no valid reason for the governor to veto the bill and I doubt he really understands what it does and what it's for. I'm glad many other states have not made this mistake.
