Anti-overdose drug Narcan to be easily available at Walgreens across Texas

The anti-overdose drug Narcan, a brand name for Naloxone, is expected to become easily available at Walgreens across Texas, including El Paso, as a result of recent legislative decision and a state-wide prescription written by a professor at The Baylor College of Medicine.

The move is being hailed as a major step forward in the state’s fight against the opioid epidemic. Although it is not yet available at local Walgreens, it is expected to be available over the counter very soon.

ABC-7 recently interviewed Angie Solis, a recovering heroin user who explained how she almost died as a result of an overdose. “They had to like slap me back to life, they had to throw water on me, they had to try to revive me because I was dead and it felt like everything in my body had shut down,” Solis said.

An opioid overdose can lead to slower breathing and a weak pulse, sometimes resulting in brain damage or death. Opioid-related deaths are on the rise in El Paso. The El Paso County Medical Examiner reports more than 150 overdose deaths in the past four years, the youngest being a 16-year-old in 2012.

“We see it usually in other parts of the country, but we know that it’s on its way to El Paso because we can see it trending across the country,” Ellen Bissette, President of the Texas School of Nurses (Region 19), said.

Narcan reportedly stops the effects of an opioid overdose for 60 to 90 minutes by binding to the brain’s opioid receptors and essentially switching them off. Experts say it helps restore breathing and buys people time to seek emergency help.

“It’s safe, its effective and relatively cost friendly,” Bissette said.

A single dose of Narcan, available in a nasal spray, pre-loaded shot, or a vial, currently costs about 50 to 100 dollars and is covered by Medicaid. Research shows when anti-opioids are distributed in communities, they can reduce overdose deaths by 50 percent.

ABC-7 called several Walgreens stores in El Paso and learned Narcan is not available yet. Some pharmacists said they will have to take a certification class first, but expect to have it in a month or two.

Narcan comes with potential side effects. “It’s going to have some side effects when you quickly reverse an opiod-based medication: nausea, vomiting, pain, delirium,” John Duran, a Nurse Administrator at the Hospitals of Providence said.