To the editor:
The bill LD 1686 An Act to Address Preventable Deaths from a Drug Overdose is a bill that will give more people access to the drug naloxone or narcan.
The drug will enable a window of time for a person who is overdosing on opioids to be able to get medical help. I believe the bill could help save lives, but I have a few concerns. This bill supports prescribing the drug to the person who has the addiction so that the family member or loved one can administer the naloxone when the person is overdosing. I am concerned that this drug could get into the wrong hands if prescribed to a family member. Once the drug is prescribed we have no control what happens to it after that. The other concern that I have is the guilt that a family member may have if something were to go wrong or the symptoms of the overdose did not improve resulting in death. The guilt that will arise from the potential failure of the drug adds another layer to what family members already experience.
The use of naloxone could also create a sense of false security for the addicted individual, which can enable addictive behaviors.
If LD 1686 passes into law and family members are allowed to decide whether a person is overdosing, there should be a provision added that requires the person who has the addiction to enter into a substance abuse treatment program if naloxone is perscribed.
When we, as family and community members, continue providing the antidote instead of the treatment to deal with addiction and associating triggers and cravings, we are failing and enabling the people we love and care about.
Tammy Kelley
Caribou
