Recently, the state of Indiana has seen an increase in fatalities due to drug overdoses. In 2022, the number of fatalities went from 1,695 to 2,221. The number of visits to the emergency room from overdoses increased from 14,836 to 15,329.
As part of an initiative to lower drug fatalities, the Fishers Health Department started teaching citizens how to use naloxone (Narcan).
“Naloxone has been used safely by emergency medical professionals for more than 40 years and has only one critical function,” according to the Fishers Health Department. “To reverse the effects of opioids to prevent overdose death.”
Using hard drugs or opioids that lead to overdoses is not something that most people start out with. Most of the time it starts with smoking at an early age. Experts have reported that there can be as much as a 10-times greater likelihood for a student to use hard drugs later in life if they vape or smoke weed between the ages of 13 and 18.
Some students, such as junior Roxie Mason, are inconvenienced by other students who vape or smoke weed in the school bathrooms at FHS.
“The school bathrooms usually smell like weed,” Mason said. “It is annoying when there’s a line out the door, and you end up being late to class because a group of girls are in there smoking.”
She believes that education geared toward stopping drug misuse among students needs to change for it to be more effective.
“I think we need more education that is specific to the way teenagers think,” Mason said. “Providing more education about healthy coping mechanisms and providing support to the students that need it.”
There has been more advocacy for naloxone education in states such as Washington and Ohio. FHS School resource officer Kyle Johns explained why more people should be educated in naloxone.
“Narcan is just another tool that would be great for the public to be trained in, just like CPR, just like using tourniquets, using certain advantages to stop bleeding,” Johns said. “It is a tool that is helpful for everyone to know how to use, and it is somewhat readily available.”
If someone near you is overdosing, you can report it because of the Good Samaritan Act, which provides legal protection to those saving another individual. If you have Narcan and there is a person overdosing, lay the person on their back and make sure their airway is clear. Remove the Narcan from its packaging, place the nozzle into one nostril, and press the plunger firmly to deliver the dose.
Narcan is not harmful to the individual, so if you believe they are overdosing but are unsure, you can still use it. You can find Narcan at the following locations.
