San Francisco police officers are being trained to administer drugs to treat drug overdose.
The Public Health Department said they’re turning more attention to this as more people are turning to street drugs such as fentanyl, after a crackdown on prescription drugs. Fentanyl has effects similar to heroin.
Police officers and Public Health officials are looking into Naloxone, a drug that reverses the effects of an overdose.
San Francisco is the first city in the state to pay for the distribution of Naloxone. In 2003, it was given to people like drug treatment workers.
Police officers in San Francisco are being trained to administer the drug, which was successfully used by an officer in June to reverse an overdose.
Glide Memorial Church outreach team member Paul Harkin said saving a life is the first step toward treatment. He believes all first responders should have the rescue kit, which can reverse an overdose.
“When you have something like fentanyl posing as heroin, people buy that not realizing it’s much more potent causing huge increase in overdoses,” Harkin said.
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The Public Health Department said Naloxone use is up in San Francisco. In this past July, Naloxone reversed 75 overdoses compared to 25 in July of last year.
