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Changing Law from Barrier to Facilitator of Opioid Overdose Prevention

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  01 January 2021

Corey Davis ,
Damika Webb  and
Scott Burris
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Extract

Drug overdose has recently surpassed motor vehicle accidents to become the leading cause of unintentional injury death in the United States. The epidemic is largely driven by opioids such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, and methadone, which kill more Americans than heroin and cocaine combined. The demographics of overdose have changed over the past few decades as well: according to the latest data, the average overdose victim is now a non-Hispanic white man aged 45-54.

These deaths — over 16,000 per year — are almost entirely preventable. Opioid overdose kills by slowly depressing respiration, a process that can take several hours. It can be quickly and effectively reversed by the timely administration of naloxone, an opioid antagonist that works by displacing opioids from the brain receptors to which they attach, reversing their depressant effect. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, has many benefits and minimal risks. Although it is a prescription drug, it is not a controlled substance and has no abuse potential.

Type
Supplement
Information
Journal of Law, Medicine & Ethics , Volume 41 , Issue S1 , Spring 2013 , pp. 33 - 36
Copyright
Copyright © American Society of Law, Medicine and Ethics 2013

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