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Analysis and Health

Why expanding access to Narcan in the US won’t solve the opioid crisis

The US has made a medication that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses available without prescription – it will no doubt prevent some deaths, but it’s not enough to tackle the opioid epidemic

By Grace Wade

14 April 2023

A two-pack of Narcan nasal spray, which is used to reverse opioid overdoses

Shutterstock/Bob LoCicero

For the first time, the (FDA) has approved a naloxone treatment – a drug called Narcan that rapidly reverses opioid overdoses – for use without a prescription. The decision is welcome news for a country in the midst of an ever-worsening opioid crisis. It will no doubt save lives, but it won’t turn the tide so long as treatment for opioid use disorder remains inaccessible.

For the past decade, the US has witnessed a catastrophic upswing in fatal drug overdoses,…

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