Police call for new medication for frontline officers amid opioid overdose crisis
POLICE are lobbying for frontline officers to carry medication that reverses the effects of opioid overdose as prescription drug deaths reach record levels in Australia.
NSW
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POLICE are pushing for frontline officers to carry the medication that reverses opioid overdose in the face of a soaring rate of deaths from prescription drugs in Australia.
Because of this alarming trend, which mirrors the opioid crisis in America, law enforcement agencies will ask the Therapeutic Goods Administration to make Naloxone available in a nasal spray form for every general duties officer to carry.
The idea would be to make the spray part of an officer’s kit, alongside capsicum spray and handcuffs, so they can treat someone suffering an overdose when they are first on the scene of an overdose.
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It is understood the Australian Criminal Intelligence Commission will co-ordinate the submission, which has drawn support from NSW Police and other agencies.
“We are concerned about the impact of opioids and synthetic drugs and are focused on reducing the demand for, and minimising the harm of, those drugs,” a NSW Police spokesman said.
“We continue to look at all options to ensure the safety of first responders.”
Naloxone is available in Australia at pharmacies over the counter but needs to be injected.
A recent inquest into opioid deaths in NSW heard abuse of the drugs had increased by 60 per cent between 2011 and 2015, compared to the previous decade.