Naloxone, which is commonly known by its brand name Narcan, has proven effective in saving the lives of people suffering from an opioid overdose.
The Santa Barbara County Sheriff’s Office has partnered with Pacific Pride Foundation to provide naloxone training to inmates, beginning with the Northern Branch Jail near Santa Maria.
On Monday, more than 90 inmates were trained by the foundation on recognizing signs of an overdose as well as how and when to correctly administer naloxone.
The sheriff’s office staff also educated inmates on California’s 911 Good Samaritan law. The goal of this training is to increase awareness of the dangers of opioids and opioid overdose, increase lifesaving overdose intervention and decrease overdose deaths — both in Santa Barbara County jails as well as in the communities.
“Overdoses from fentanyl and other opioids kill far too many people in our communities,” Sheriff Bill Brown said in a news release. “It is important that everyone knows how to recognize when an overdose has occurred and know how to use naloxone to save a life. We in the Sheriff’s Office are proud to partner with Pacific Pride Foundation to provide this awareness and training to our county jail inmates.”
Naloxone is a lifesaving medication designed to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Opioid overdose can be due to many factors including deliberate misuses of a prescription, illicit opioid use (such as heroin), or use of an opioid contaminated with other even more potent opioids (such as fentanyl).
An overdose can also occur when a patient takes an opioid as directed but for which the prescriber miscalculated the opioid dose, when an error was made by the dispensing pharmacist, or when the patient misunderstood the directions for use.
Anyone experiencing an opioid overdose needs immediate medical attention. The sheriff’s office urges people to call 9-1-1 if they suspect an overdose is occurring.
California’s 911 Good Samaritan law, AB 472, provides limited protection from arrest, charge and prosecution for people who seek emergency medical assistance at the scene of a suspected drug overdose.
And Pacific Pride Foundation offers free naloxone at its syringe exchange program, and at its offices in Santa Barbara and Santa Maria.
For more information, visit.pacificpridefoundation.org.
email: kzehnder@newspress.com
