Biden administration calls for all schools to stock naloxone for opioid overdoses

by Sarah Fortinsky - 10/31/23 12:29 PM ET

FILE – In this Jan. 23, 2018, file photo, Leah Hill, a behavioral health fellow with the Baltimore City Health Department, displays a sample of Narcan nasal spray in Baltimore. The overdose-reversal drug is a critical tool to easing America’s coast-to-coast opioid epidemic. A record 621 people died of drug overdoses in San Francisco so far in 2020, a staggering number that far outpaces the 173 deaths from COVID-19 the city has seen thus far. The crisis fueled by the powerful painkiller Fentanyl could have been far worse if it wasn’t for the nearly 3,000 times Narcan was used from January to the beginning of November to save someone from the brink of death, the San Francisco Chronicle reported Saturday, Dec. 19, 2020. (AP Photo/Patrick Semansky, File)

The Biden administration on Monday called for all U.S. schools to stock naloxone and to train students and faculty to be able to administer the medication in the event of an opioid overdose on their grounds.

“In the midst of this fentanyl overdose epidemic, it is important to focus on measures to prevent youth drug use and ensure that every school has naloxone and has prepared its students and faculty to use it,” reads a “Dear Colleague” letter signed by Education Secretary Miguel Cardona and Office of National Drug Control Policy Director Rahul Gupta.

In the letter, Cardona and Gupta noted that 107,000 people died from an overdose last year, which they said is “unacceptably high,” even though 2022 was the first time in years the number began to drop.

They made the case that naloxone is safe and can help save lives, and they directed schools to webinars and online portals that contain resources to help educate faculty, staff, parents and community leaders on the benefits of naloxone and on ways to develop “safe, supportive, and drug free learning environments.”

“Studies show that naloxone access can reduce overdose death rates, that its availability does not lead to increases in youth drug use, and that it causes no harm if used on a person who is not overdosing on opioids,” they wrote, noting many states have Good Samaritan laws that protect bystanders who help at the scene of an overdose.

The push to stock the overdose antidote comes amid new steps from the Biden administration to fight the epidemic and to make naloxone more widely available.

It also comes nearly two months after Narcan became the first naloxone antidote to be available over the counter. The Food and Drug Administration first approved its over-the-counter use in March and has since approved a generic version of Narcan, as well as a second brand-name nasal spray, ReVive.

“It will be important for your schools to take advantage of this opportunity, and to encourage families to have naloxone at home,” Cardona and Gupta wrote about the new availability of the treatment. “Local public health departments, state behavioral health agencies, and state educational agencies can be helpful in working with schools and districts to access naloxone.”

“There is no time to waste when responding to an overdose, and it is critical that youth and school personnel can access naloxone on school grounds during and after school.”