TACOMA, Wash. — The Tacoma Police Department announced on Wednesday it has distributed the overdose-reversing drug, Narcan, to patrol officers.
In a Facebook post, the department said patrol officers are often the first to arrive on overdose calls and they will now all have access to the life-saving tool.
Narcan is the approved branded nasal spray from Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions and is the best-known form of naloxone.
It can reverse overdoses of opioids, including street drugs such as heroin and fentanyl and prescription versions including oxycodone.
According to Tacoma police, fentanyl can now be found in our region for as cheap as $1 a pill, and opiate overdose is a "daily occurrence" in the city.
A report from Quote Wizard said 2,432 people died from overdoses in Washington state in 2022. The 17% increase was the fifth-highest rate in the country. The report said opioid deaths have skyrocketed across the country since 2015 when there were 52,000 overdose-related deaths. There were 107,000 overdose deaths in 2022 alone.
"This crisis continues to wreak havoc on communities and families across the country; it's a nightly news story and has touched so many lives," the department wrote in the Facebook post.
Officers will not be required to carry the Narcan at all times, but they are all trained on how to use it.
"We had, just this past year, had a toddler who had a really scary situation where one of our officers just happened to be in the area and was able to save the kid's life with quick actions," said Shelbie Boyd with the Tacoma Police Department. "So that, along with some potential exposure to our officers, that's why our department finally went forward with carrying Narcan."
According to the organization, Families Against Fentanyl, nationally fentanyl deaths doubled in the two years from 2019-2021. But in that same time, deaths among infants to 1-year-olds quadrupled.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved selling naloxone without a prescription last month. It costs around $50 for two doses of Narcan when purchased over the counter.