A small amount of Narcan nasal spray can save the life of someone in the middle of an opioid overdose. It’s effective, easy to use, and, like a fire extinguisher, should always be on hand. But it might soon be harder to find in Colorado.
Many Coloradans owe their lives to naloxone (commonly referred to by the brand name Narcan), and as the opioid crisis has grown, the state has wisely encouraged first responders and community organizations to distribute the medication broadly. But state funding for naloxone is becoming increasingly limited. The Colorado Department of Public Health and Environment, which provides naloxone, has started issuing guidance that they will not be able to supply naloxone to organizations. Some agencies and organizations that depend on regular access to free naloxone don’t realize that they could soon be without a source.
We are writing this together, united in an effort to make this lifesaving medication widely available, but we come to this work from very different perspectives.
Don is an emergency and addiction-medicine physician and the founder of the NaloxoneProject, a nonprofit organization that encourages clinicians and hospitals to identify patients at risk of opioid overdose and reliably dispense naloxone to them.
Jeremy is a recovery coach who suffered through years of opioid addiction. Following a traumatic childhood full of abuse and neglect, he spent more than a decade in prison for stealing to support his addiction. By his count, he was revived by naloxone at least five times.He knows that naloxone saved his life, and he wants to ensure others have the same opportunity to reclaim their lives–first-time users and addicts alike.
Fentanyl is 50 times stronger than heroin; it’s highly addictive, and it’s cheap. Counterfeit prescription drugs purchased over social media are often laced with fentanyl, and many unsuspecting people — including many kids — are dying as a result. Nearly 1,800 Coloradans died of drug overdoses in 2022 alone — that’s a 46% increase in deaths since 2018. Clearly, now is not the time to scale back our efforts to save lives or decrease access to naloxone.
Yet that’s what our state may end up doing. Colorado’s Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund is the main source of grant-funded naloxone in the state, and it’s in trouble. For the last four years, local law enforcement, first responders, and community and recovery organizations have applied to receive the medication they need from the fund, which it purchases at scale for a discount. Gov. Jared Polis wisely provided funding for it from the American Rescue Plan — federal dollars meant to help states and localities weather the economic and health crises of the COVID pandemic.
But ARPA funding expired at the end of June, and now Colorado’s naloxone supply is in jeopardy.
Stabilizing the Naloxone Bulk Purchase Fund and creating a long-term solution to providing this life-saving medication should be a top priority for Colorado.
Fortunately, we have several options to preserve this lifeline. The National Opioid Settlement has left our state Attorney General’s office and our regional opioid abatement councils with $750 million to spend over the next 18 years. The Attorney General, who has been active in addressing the opioid crisis, should push to use some of that money — which comes from companies that contributed to the crisis — to provide steady funding for naloxone access.
Colorado insurers (including Medicaid) can also contribute to the fund. And when the legislature returns next year, it can provide additional money. Whatever combination of funding mechanisms Colorado chooses, it is urgent that legislators, regulators, insurance companies and public health officials find a solution. We beseech them to act swiftly and definitively to advance the public good, save lives, and prioritize keeping this life-saving drug in the hands of those who need it most.
Dr. Donald Stader is an emergency room and addiction medicine physician and the executive
director of the Naloxone Project. Jeremy Pavlik is a recovery coach for HardBeauty, a Colorado-based organization that helps people overcome addiction, homelessness, depression, and other mental health issues.
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Originally Published: August 8, 2024 at 6:25 a.m.
