Narcan Access: The Ins and Outs of The Expanding Policy in Ohio

All across the United States, the opioid crisis remains rapid and deadly. The number of people dying from drug overdose, in just 2021, is over six times the number in 1999 (“Understanding the opioid overdose epidemic,” 2023). Thousands of public health officials and organizations, policymakers, and law enforcers are constantly deriving new ways to combat this epidemic. Specific to the state of Ohio, in 2012, a new network of opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution programs was coordinated by the Department of Health (Ohio Department of Health, n.d.). Deaths Avoided with Naloxone, DAWN, is named after Leslie Dawn Cooper, a woman who suffered from substance use disorder and died from a witnessed opioid overdose. As of 2012, Project DAWN is in 82 of Ohio’s 88 counties, the first site established in Leslie’s hometown, Portsmouth, Ohio. Project DAWN has over 167 opioid overdose education and naloxone distribution program locations that include community organizations, emergency services, and correctional facilities. (Ohio Department of Health, n.d.). This new program includes laws that enable pharmacists to provide Narcan without a prescription without criminal liability. Project DAWN aims to combat a crisis that grows larger every day, addressing numerous public health issues in Ohio step by step. The goal of this is to investigate and discover the reactions, consequences, and effects of increased access to Narcan.