Plan to stock schools with Narcan faces opposition

<p>A new bill that would place anti-opioid overdose kits in schools has stirred up controversy as critics argue it will create more problems.</p>

News 12 Staff

Dec 7, 2017, 9:57 PM

Updated 2,558 days ago

Share:

A new bill that would place anti-opioid overdose kits in schools has stirred up controversy as critics argue it will create more problems.
In just the past few weeks, a man and two toddlers have overdosed in the borough.
The man was found unresponsive in a bathroom stall at a Longwood school, and police say they found a white substance in an envelope near his body.
Councilman Rafael Salamanca Jr. says his bill requiring the Department of Education to stock schools with Narcan, an antidote for opioid overdoses, could save lives.
Some parents say they oppose the plan of bringing in a drug to prevent other drug overdoses. Others say they don't want officials having a say in what gets brought into their children's schools.
But some say saving lives is worth it.
"To me what's most frustrating with the administration is the fact that Narcan, this antidote, costs nothing," Salamanca says. "It's just another preventive measure that the city of New York could give its constituents to have available to save a life."
City officials say they are already distributing about 100,000 antidote kits to first responders across the Big Apple.