L.D. 1547, An Act to Increase Access to the Lifesaving Overdose Antidote Naloxone Hydrochloride, left committee March 1 with a divided report.

Two members voted “ought not to pass” because of concerns about the necessity of making the medicine available over the counter and the possibility of the unintended effect of encouraging greater use of opioids. I’d like to provide a measure of education regarding those concerns.

As it stands, current legislation governing access to naloxone is insufficient to combat the rising death toll from opioid-related overdose. A national survey showed a majority of doctors are either unaware of their ability to prescribe naloxone, as a direct or standing order, or are unwilling to do so.

Equipping our first responders (police, fire, EMS) with naloxone was a step in the right direction. However, the rural nature of our state poses a problem in the form of response time.

Eighty-five percent of opioid-related overdoses occur in the presence of another person. Lay administration of naloxone will buy valuable time until trained professionals can arrive. In a rural state, those extra minutes can mean the difference between life and death.

There is no evidence to support claims that increased access to naloxone encourages more use of opioids. Studies performed in Chicago and San Francisco have shown quite the opposite. Injection drug users, equipped with naloxone and trained to use it, were more likely to reduce use and access health resources.

Naloxone is non-addictive and can put opioid-dependent people into withdrawal; hence, there is little motivation to misuse it. Naloxone has fewer side effects than epinephrine (EpiPen) and creates no “high.”

Naloxone has one purpose: to reverse an opioid overdose. Reducing barriers to accessing naloxone will make it easier for Mainers to save Maine lives.

Ross Hicks

Brunswick