On overdose awareness day, the University District Needle Exchange handed out free kits of Narcan Thursday evening.
Just one dose could save a life, event organizers said.
“It’s really important that everyone has access to Narcan, because this is the difference between life and death,” said Shilo Murphy, director of the Peoples Harm Reduction Alliance, which runs the exchange.
The kits contain naloxone, which is an antidote for opioid overdose and can temporarily stop the effects of the opiate.
The exchange had 200 kits to hand out in hopes of arming more people with a tool to reverse an overdose.
Volunteer staff handed out kits, and Murphy helped train recipients on how to use the canisters.
“These are preventable deaths,” Murphy said. “This is something that can change your life.”
