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Licking County to Start New Naloxone Distribution Program
By: Associated Press
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NEWARK, Ohio (AP) – Residents in Licking county can get online training about using naloxone and receive the opioid overdose reversal drug by mail through a new program billed as the first of its kind in the state.
The Licking County Health Department will launch the program in January.
The county purchased 350 naloxone kits using state grants that contain enough medication to stabilize a person until first responders arrive. Naloxone can be bought in Ohio without a prescription.
Department spokeswoman Olivia Biggs says 68 people have died of overdoses in the county since 2015, including 26 so far this year.
Biggs says the program will help reduce the stigma associated with drug addiction and be more convenient for people who “really want to save someone’s life.”