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Lawmaker wants overdose prevention drug more accessible

Posted January 12, 2016 6:00 am

The Associated Press

INDIANAPOLIS (AP) - A state senator says an overdose intervention drug has saved nearly 3,000 lives in Indianapolis in three years.

Republican Sen. Jim Merritt of Indianapolis says the number of lives saved by Indianapolis Emergency Medical Services with the drug Narcan has risen from 629 in 2013 to more than 1,150 last year. He said Monday that the agency already has saved 14 additional lives in 2016.

Merritt says he has filed legislation that would make such drugs more accessible. It would require the Indiana State Department of Health to issue a standing order for overdose intervention drugs such as Narcan.

Merritt says the number of drug overdoses in Marion County has grown over the past two years, increasing the need to make Narcan more accessible.

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