Baltimore, other cities with opioid crisis short on overdose antidote (Fox News)
Baltimore averaged around two opioid-related overdose deaths a day last year — an inordinately high number for a city of just over 622,000.
City health officials, however, say that number could have been even higher if not for the availability of naloxone, the overdose reversal drug that has been used hundreds of times over the last few years amid the ongoing opioid epidemic plaguing Baltimore and other U.S. communities.
But with an estimated 21,000 active heroin users in Baltimore and only about 4,000 doses of naloxone to last until next May, officials in Maryland’s largest city are concerned that they will run out of the lifesaving drug by the end of July.
“Naloxone is a pure antidote to opioid overdoses,” Leana Wen, the Baltimore city health commissioner, told Fox News. “It’s safe, effective, easy to administer and brings somebody back from overdose literally in seconds.”