Minnesota Lawmakers Push To Make Narcan Available in Schools

According to local news station WCCO, A proposed Minnesota bill would “require each school building to store two doses of Narcan’s nasal spray version,” and the station said that “policy and funding to support it would be Included in the House and Senate spending packages. – Session budget negotiations.

“We cannot tolerate any more unnecessary loss of life. We must act urgently and we must act now,” said Democratic Senator Kelly Morrison. Cited by WCCO“We are thrilled that our bill is finally close to becoming law in Minnesota.”

The bureau reported that Morrison was joined by other supporters and Democratic Minnesota Rep. Dean Phillips at Thursday’s press conference in St. Paul. ”

“At the federal level, not all states do so, so this is more complementary than anything else,” Phillips said. Cited by WCCO“It … just allows schools to apply for the dollars that exist now. It’s actually very easy and easy to access, but we’re currently being prevented from doing so.”

The past decade has seen an alarming surge in lethal overdoses from opioids such as fentanyl in the United States.

Fatal overdoses with fentanyl nearly quadrupled between 2016 and 2021, with 5.7 deaths, at a rate of 18,499 to 21.6, according to a report this week from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. to 69,943 people.

A CDC report found that other drug-related overdoses were also on the rise.

“The age-adjusted rate of fentanyl-related drug overdose deaths more than tripled during the study period, increasing from 5.7 per 100,000 normal population in 2016 to 21.6 per 100,000 in 2021, up from 2019 (11.2). It increased by 55.0% in 2020 (17.4) and increased by 24.1% from 2020 to 2021 (21.6).Death from drug overdose involving methamphetamine increased from 2.1 in 2016 to 9.6 in 20214 more than doubled,” the report said. The death rate from cocaine overdose has more than doubled from 3.5 in 2016 to 7.9 per 100,000 in 2021. statistically significant. The death rate from drug overdose involving oxycodone has decreased by 21.0% from 1.9 in 2016 to 1.5 in 2021. ”

Between 2016 and 2021, the CDC found that “age-adjusted drug overdose mortality rates associated with fentanyl, methamphetamine, and cocaine increased, while those associated with oxycodone decreased.” I did.”

“In 2021, age-adjusted male mortality rates were higher than female mortality rates for all drugs analyzed. Drug overdose mortality was highest among those aged 25 to 64 years.” A similar pattern was observed between ages 0–24 and ages 65 and over, but no significant differences were observed between rates.Fentanyl was also associated with the analyzed race and Hispanic It was the most frequent opioid or stimulant involved in drug overdose deaths in the origin group,” the CDC reported.

These troubling statistics have prompted policy makers to take action. In 2021, New York City will open the nation’s first overdose prevention center. A facility is defined as “a safe place where people who use drugs can obtain medical care and access to treatment and social services.”

“New York City has led the nation’s fight against COVID-19, but the fight to keep our communities safe doesn’t stop there. We know the right path to protect the most vulnerable people in the United States, and we will not hesitate to embrace that,” then-New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio said in an announcement at the time. Overdose prevention centers are a safe and effective way to address the opioid crisis, and after decades of failure, we can show cities in this country that a smarter approach is possible. I am proud of it.”