The Henderson Police Department will begin carrying the opioid overdose reversal drug Naloxone, sold under the brand name Narcan.
Two-hundred kits were donated to the department by the Southern Nevada Health District.
“At this day and age, it’s critical that all first responders have access to Narcan,” said David Marlon, CEO of Solutions Recovery.
The overdose kits are small, accessible, and convenient.
“It’s an anti-opioid medication and the kits contain a mask for officer’s safety, a glove for officer’s safety, and then the actual nasal applicator,” said Henderson Police Officer Rod Pena.
Narcan is a key tool for cops to reverse fatal drug overdoses. Officer Rod Pena believes it’s something his department should have had a while ago.
“It’s important when we have the addictions that are taking place in society to have something that could save somebody’s life,” said Pena.
Marlon keeps Narcan readily available at all of his facilities.
“More than half of the clients who are coming here are coming for opiate dependents and that’s new,” said Marlon. “When we opened 13 years ago, it was a small percentage. Now, it’s most of the people coming. So, the need for drugs like Narcan are particularly acute right now.”
Marlon uses an auto-injector version of Narcan called Evzio. It’s a prefilled auto-injector used to administer Naloxone in the outer thigh.
“Unfortunately, I haven’t seen the graph begin to turn down yet,” said Marlon. “I’m still hearing about way too many overdoses. This is a huge problem.”
Every patrol officer in Henderson will be trained on how to use Narcan by Friday.
Nevada Highway Patrol and Metro Police are already carrying the drug.
