Narcan meets the definition of a “miracle drug.” It is completely harmless, has no side effects and is 100 percent effective as a medication to immediately reverse the potentially fatal narcotic overdoses that are becoming so frequent in Maine. It can be given by untrained individuals following simple instructions and is safer than frantic CPR.
By vetoing the bill to make Narcan available over the counter to the public, is Gov. LePage intending to make drug abuse and addiction a death penalty offense? Maybe so! But what of many other patients whose lives could be saved?
What if a toddler has gotten into a parent’s prescription (or stash), or a teen is OD’d by classmates as an initiation rite or as a joke? (Remember the ’60s fraternity initiation rites of drinking yourself into unconsciousness?) What if a confused elder takes an extra pain pill in a complex medical regimen for terminal cancer?
Yes, limiting access to Narcan would save money for further treatment, just as not treating cancer and heart attacks makes financial sense because they will only strike again.
Maybe LePage’s next ploy will be to take it off our ambulances and out of our ERs. That would make as much sense as saving more taxpayers’ money by abandoning law enforcement efforts to disrupt suppliers, because addicts are just going to abuse drugs again as soon as they get them, even though we make it more difficult.
Paul A. Liebow, M.D., FACEP
Bucksport
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