ADS To Help In Distribution of Life Saving Naloxone

The High Point, NC community has been on red alert for a number of months in response to the series of heroin overdoses which have occurred in Guilford county throughout 2014.

Alcohol and Drug Services (ADS) in partnership with the High Point Community Foundation, NC Harm Reduction Coalition, and High Point Police Department will be participating in a project to distribute life-saving naloxone kits to individuals and families that are facing opioid addiction.

The goal is to make naloxone more readily available to help save lives giving those with addictive disease the opportunity to enter drug treatment and the recovery process. It is important to note that naloxone is not an opiate or a medication that produces a drug high. When administered to someone in a potentially lethal opioid overdose situation, naloxone reverses the effects of the overdose, restores breathing, and can save a person’s life.

In the video below, WFMY covers the recent overdose crisis and expands on the collective efforts of local agencies to get naloxone into the hands of friends and family who can make a difference.

300 overdose prevention kits will be made available beginning October 15, and can be picked up at the High Point location of Alcohol and Drug Services on 119 Chestnut Drive. In the past year, over 150 overdose reversals have been achieved in North Carolina through the administration of naloxone.