Drug Abuse

drug abuse: Supporters say the opportunity to save potentially thousands of lives outweighs any fears by critics that the promise of a nearby antidote would only encourage drug abuse, according to Huffington Post. Among them is New Jersey, which passed a law last year that allows members of the public to carry naloxone administered through a nasal spray or injection into a muscle after getting training and N.J. - As deaths from heroin and powerful painkillers increase throughout the U.S., governments and clinics are working to put a drug that can reverse an opiate overdose into the hands of more paramedics, police officers and people who abuse drugs. At least 17 states and the District of Columbia allow naloxone commonly known by the brand name Narcan to be distributed to the public, said Jeffrey Levi, executive director of Trust for America's Health, a national non-profit that focuses on preventive health care. At least 10 of those states allow for third parties, such as a family member or friend of an intravenous drug user, to be prescribed it. (www.immigrantscanada.com). As reported in the news.