US Surgeon General Jerome Adams will on Thursday issue a nationwide advisory — the first from his office in 13 years — for more people to get access to and training for the overdose-reversing drug naloxone.

“Unfortunately, we are having to ration naloxone because we simply don’t have the resources to purchase this life-saving antidote,” Baltimore health commissioner Leana Wen said in a statement to BuzzFeed News. “Every week, we count the doses we have left and make hard decisions about who will receive the medication and who will have to go without.”

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The United States Surgeon General, Dr. Jerome M. Adams, issued a national advisory Thursday urging more Americans to keep on hand and learn how to use the drug, naloxone, which can save the lives of people overdosing on opioids. Naloxone has already revived thousands of overdose victims as the opioid epidemic has intensified, but rescue workers have usually been the ones to administer it.

Dr. Leana Wen, the health commissioner in Baltimore, said her city has to ration naloxone because it can’t afford to keep a stockpile on hand. She called on the Trump administration to negotiate directly with the manufacturers of naloxone to make it available at a steeply discounted rate. 

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A slim majority of Americans see prescription drug addiction as a disease that requires medical treatment, but most would not welcome those suffering from the problem into their neighborhoods, workplaces, or families. 

Those figures worry Baltimore Health Commissioner Leana Wen, who says it’s counterproductive to blame people for their medical conditions. 

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Dr. Wen appeared on NBC Nightly News with Lester Holt to discuss the Surgeon General's Advisory urging Americans to carry naloxone. 

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