Training offered on administration of opioid-blocking drug Naloxone

SOUTHFIELD, Mich. (AP) — Free training on how to administer Naloxone, an opioid-blocking drug used to reverse the effects of an overdose, will be offered by first responders in a suburban Detroit community and health and anti-drug groups.

The free event, open to the public, has been scheduled Tuesday evening at the Southfield Public Library through the city’s police and fire departments and the Alliance of Coalitions for Healthy Communities and the Southfield Anti-Drug Coalition.

Attendees will be trained on how to properly administer Intra-Nasal Narcan to someone who has overdosed on opioids, organizers said.

Participants must register and be at least 18 years of age to receive a Save A Life kit which includes two doses of Narcan. A valid driver’s license or state identification card is required to receive the kit.

In 2017, the last year for which data is available, there were 2,686 drug overdose deaths in Michigan, which was 13% more than the previous year. Of those 2,686 deaths, 2,053 were related to opioid overdoses, which was 15% more than in 2016.

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer said last month  that she wants to cut the number of Michigan’s opioid-related overdose deaths in half within five years. Her administration announced a $1 million advertising campaign to reduce the stigma associated with seeking treatment and a plan to no longer require Medicaid recipients to get prior insurance authorization from health plans to be prescribed medicines that treat opioid abuse.