In 2013, North Carolina legalized a drug called naloxone that reverses overdoses. Pat McCrory’s pen on Monday, the lifesaving opioid-reversing drug naloxone became available to the general public. The director, Dr. Randall Williams, promptly signed the directive.
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The cost of the drug will vary by pharmacy and type of insurance.
Only Maryland and Pennsylvania have similar standing orders.
“I think this bill is going to save literally thousands of lives”, McCrory said. “And we’ve got to start by saving those lives, then getting them the treatment they need”.
The bill’s unanimous passage in both the state House and Senate reflect a desire to deal with the growing problem of opioid addiction.
State Health and Human Services Secretary Rick Brajer said about 1,000 North Carolinians died past year due to heroin overdoses.
Since Jan. 1, High Point has seen 68 overdoses and two deaths – a number poised to double the 77 overdoses reported a year ago. In the past, Stalls said, EMS personnel were the only ones able to offer the opioid reversal drug. Stam argued the bill is meant to create a buffer between professional law enforcement and elected officials, protecting the privacy of those captured on film, and in some cases, informants. “We have been a user of naloxone in our patrol cars for a long time and it’s saved a lot of lives”. Starting in the fall, the 146,000 students in the Charlotte-Mecklenburg system can base the facilities they use on their self-declared identities – much to McCrory’s displeasure. More drug treatment courts and veteran courts are needed to be sure that those who need treatment don’t instead just end up in jail, he said.
“One of the recommendations that we’ve asked for budget support for is to increase our funding for recovery courts”, Brajer said.
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McCrory’s office said he signed nine bills Wednesday. A Ragsdale High School alum, McCrory said he saw a glorification of drug use and lost several of his classmates to alcohol and drugs around 1974. McCrory has said the White House is “bypassing Congress by attempting to rewrite the law”, according to NPR. “I could have been one of those victims. Thankfully, I did not have the addiction gene or I wouldn’t be here today”.
