The Athens County Sheriff’s Office is the only law enforcement agency in the county that’s planning to carry Naloxone — a life saving drug for users overdosing on opiates — in their cruisers.
When the central nervous system shuts down during an opiate drug overdose, it typically kills the user with it.
But there’s a drug, Naloxone, which can stretch the time between life and death by 40 to 80 minutes — enough time to drive to the hospital and save a life.
Out of the three law enforcement agencies in Athens County, the Athens County Sheriff’s Office is the only department planning to participate in the state-administered Death Avoided With Naloxone, or DAWN, program — which uses the drug to stop an opiate overdose.
The program was launched by the Athens City-County Health Department late last month and DAWN kits will be in cruisers within the next year, said Athens County interim Sheriff Rodney Smith.
“If there’s a first responder there that can administer that drug immediately, it can literally save someone’s life,” Smith said.
The health department also offers opiate users, or the friends and families of opiate users, a training course on how to administer Naloxone with a free DAWN kit.
The kit includes a training DVD, two vials for the administration of Naloxone and face shields in case CPR needs to be performed.
Naloxone is administered through a nasal spray that reverses the effects of an opiate overdose as the person’s nervous system is rapidly collapsing.
The symptoms of the overdose will then lessen as the subject begins breathing again, giving the subject time to get to a hospital.
Last March, House Bill 170 was signed into law — allowing for Naloxone to be prescribed to a friend or family member who might administer it to someone experiencing an opiate overdose. It also permitted law enforcement officers to administer the drug without risk of a lawsuit.
The bill also provided that, as long as an individual involved in a drug overdose situation calls emergency medical responders beforehand, amnesty is granted — meaning no criminal charges will be given.
Athens City-County Health Commissioner James Gaskell said the department has spoken to local law enforcement officials about carrying the DAWN kits in their cruisers, but has been met with some reluctance.
“It’s out of their comfort zones; it’s not what they do,” Gaskell said. “I hope law enforcement will carry (Naloxone) in their cruisers.”
Smith said his office is currently looking at shelf life, storage and training its officers in the proper way to administer Naloxone.
The Athens Police Department is considering participating in project DAWN as well, though it has a few concerns.
“The stuff has to stay in a controlled environment, which we don’t have in the cruisers,” APD Chief Tom Pyle said. “To be effective, they have to be there.”
Pyle added that it’s rare for law enforcement to arrive to the scene of a drug overdose before Athens County Emergency Medical Services.
“If anyone in the city should be packing Narcan (Naloxone), it’s EMS, and they already do,” he said.
Ohio University Police Lt. Tim Ryan said the department did not know enough about project DAWN to give a projection on whether they will use it in the future.
Bill Dunlap, deputy director of the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board, said it’s been a long process to get the DAWN program here in Athens.
Dunlap said Athens County is the first of three out of the Athens-Hocking-Vinton 317 Board that was able to start the DAWN program.
He said their board approved in August to use $6,000 from levy funds to jumpstart the program in Athens.
This year, his office was approved a regional grant of $80,000. He said that will help introduce project DAWN for 21 counties in southeast Ohio.
“We felt that it was an important thing that needed to get started,” Dunlap said.
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