LYNN — The Health Department applied for the Community Naloxone Purchasing Program this week, which is a state-led program that allows qualifying agencies the opportunity to administer Naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal drug, to the public.
Lynn Health Department Opioid Prevention Specialist Candice McClory said Naloxone, commonly referred to by its brand name, Narcan, can bring those struggling with drug addiction a second chance on life after an overdose.
“You can’t recover from substance use disorder if you’re dead. So Narcan gives people the opportunity to recover, because unfortunately, fentanyl is a very dangerous drug, and it works very differently in every single person. So you don’t know how you’re going to react to it when you need to use that drug. It could just be a mild high for you or it can be the matter of death,” McClory said. “Narcan helps you get another opportunity to get help, to seek help to get better, and get through your substance use disorder, and you can’t do that if you’re dead.”
McClory said that in Lynn this year, medical professionals have already seen around 200 opioid overdoses. She said that the city wants to make sure that those who need Narcan, or want it so that they can save someone’s life, have access to the drug.
“There is a huge need for Narcan in the community with all the overdoses that have occurred. Just this year, we’re somewhere nearing about 200 overdoses just to see if so far in Lynn that have been reported. We know that many go unreported every single day. So we want to make sure that they have access to Narcan for those who need it and want it in the community,” McClory said. “This is not meant just for medical professionals, but community members, family members of active users, active users themselves, people who work with active users, and then again, just any concerned community members.”
McClory said that Naloxone is not dangerous to use, even when it’s administered to someone who is not overdosing. She said if a Good Samaritan is uncertain whether or not an individual is overdosing, administering Naloxone will not harm them.
“So the good thing about Narcan is if someone isn’t overdosing, so say you were walking down the street and you came across somebody that you think is potentially overdosing, but you’re not sure because you don’t know them and you have your Narcan, you could use your Narcan. And if they’re not overdosing, it’s not going to hurt them. Narcan only works for opioid overdoses. So it will only reverse an opioid overdose. So it won’t do any harm if it’s not an overdose,” McClory said.
Although Naloxone is available without a prescription at most Massachusetts pharmacies, Public Health Director Michelle Desmarais said that if the city is granted permission to dispense the drug, it would allow those seeking help the ability to obtain the drug in a more private fashion.
“It’s important for the community to know that there are people who will be private about their issues at home, and, if somebody could come to us and say, ‘I am concerned about my son or my daughter, or, you know, grandchild,’ whoever they are, everybody knows somebody, and at least they would feel like they could try to save them in some way,” Desmarais said. “People don’t even want to go to their own pharmacies to get it. So there’s a stigma and people don’t like it. So this would be just an opportunity for anyone to come into. It’s important that since COVID, at the height of the pandemic, I think all of us have realized that public health will never be the same, and we want to have more of a presence in the community so that the community sees us as a helpful site.”
McClory said that in addition to applying for the Community Naloxone Purchasing Program, the Lynn Health Department aims to apply for grants to start drug harm reduction and education programs for all age groups.
“So we’re trying to reach the whole age range to find any resources or services that kind of have missed maybe, maybe the service doesn’t necessarily exist right now. That’s what we’re trying to do. We’re trying to find out through these age groups in these grants, what the risks are in the community and how we can help them,” McClory said.
Even though drugs and drug addiction have been present in the U.S. for centuries, McClory said that fentanyl in particular is killing people faster than any of the drugs that were popular in past decades.
“Drugs have always been a major concern, but in previous years, such as the 90s, it was crack and cocaine, that was the big thing. You weren’t really dying from crack and cocaine. Now that the hot drug is fentanyl, people are dying from that, and so communities are taking it more seriously, because it’s not just a drug that you’re just doing and you’re stealing from people, but now you’re dying from it,” McClory said. “It’s seeing the deaths, which is what is making people wake up and see that drugs are actually affecting people’s lives every single day.”
Anthony Cammalleri can be reached at [email protected].
