Narcan (Naloxone) is officially being sold in stores and online 

By Gavin Serrano

Narcan: First of all, what is it? Naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan, is a nasal spray that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose. AAhealth illuminates this drug’s effect by stating  “Naloxone works by blocking the effects of opiates in its tracks on the brain and by restoring breathing. Naloxone will only work if a person has opiates in their system. It will not work with other drugs. A person cannot get “high” from using naloxone, and it is safe for practically anyone to use.” Naloxone needs two to three minutes to take effect, which means if a bystander administers the drug and the person is still unconscious by the end of 3 minutes, the bystander should administer a second dose, information which was provided by AAhealth. 

Naloxone contains the active drug Narcan, which makes it a member of a pharmacological class known as opioid antagonists. These drugs work to treat opioid overdose by preventing the harmful and rapid effects of opioids in your body. The drug reverses the life-threatening effects that happen when someone ingests too many opioids. 

Originally, this life saving drug was only found in hospitals. However, now, proNarcan will be available on Sept 5 in Walgreens, and it will become nationwide on Sept 7 straight from the Walgreens website. However, there is some debate about this opioid antagonist because of the price. So, how expensive is it?

The cost of Naloxone will be 44.99 USD, which makes it quite pricey when considering the most likely users—drug addicts who may be homeless or teenagers. You can’t put a price on something if it genuinely saves lives, but we’re yet to know its success rate of reaching clients over the counter. 

Something to remember about using Naloxone is that there are no side effects, and while it will stop an opioid overdose, it doesn’t take the place of emergency medical care. Dial 911 immediately after administering the first dose of Naloxone (Symptoms of an opioid overdose). Now that Naloxone is available over the counter, despite its price, we have a chance of saving people’s lives that were previously bound to suffer and die.