CommonHealth: Mass. A National Leader In Overdose Prevention

In our weekly CommonHealth segment we discuss a new move to make a drug overdose antidote more available. Some say it will save lives, but others worry it will promote bad behavior.

Co-authors of “Prevention of Fatal Opioid Overdose,” a viewpoint piece that recently appeared in the Journal of the Medical American Association, join Radio Boston to suggest what individuals, doctors, and the government can do.

Guests:

• Leo Beletsky, assistant professor of law and health sciences at Northeastern University
• Alexander Walley, assistant professor of medicine at Boston University School of Medicine and medical director of both Boston’s Opioid Treatment Program and the state’s Opioid Overdose Prevention Program. In April, he gave the presentation, “Bystander Overdose Education And Naloxone Distribution In Massachusetts” (PDF)

More:

• CommonHealth: Overdose Antidote: What The Government Doesn’t Do & What You Can
• The Phoenix: Prescription Opioids Have Wreaked Havoc On The Bay State
  
• Mass. Health Council PDF: Report On The Preventable Determinants Of Health

Here’s a basic how-to on administering the opioid overdose antidote, naxolone: