Today, Narcan kits were distributed to all Haverhill Police patrol officers. The substance, known generically as naloxone, has been used to save lives of drug overdose victims. acute opioid overdose
Haverhill Mayor James J. Fiorentini said distribution of the lifesaving kits came after all officers were trained in its use. Haverhill Fire Fighters will be trained and equipped next, he said.
“Our goal: no more lives lost in this terrible heroin epidemic,” the mayor said.
Narcan, administered by police, is a nasal dose. The city received $22,000 in grant money from the state to fund Narcan and related training. Fiorentini thanked state Rep. Brian S. Dempsey for his support of state funding. In an address last month, Fiorentini promised the city would respond to the statewide heroin problem.
“The first thing we are going to do is to equip every police patrol officer with Narcan—a substance that can sometimes, not always, revive people who have overdosed, and save their lives.” He said other local actions are also planned after he gathered with leaders from agencies dealing with heroin and substance abuse. Fiorentini said, young people abusing pain killers are getting hooked on heroin because it’s inexpensive and highly addictive, but can lead to jail for other crimes.
Police in other Merrimack Valley communities have also been battling against the spread of heroin and responding to overdose cases. Earlier this year, Massachusetts Governor Deval Patirck declared heroin and other opioid addiction “a health emergency” in the Bay State.