Column by Commissioner Terry Cook
http://Williamson Commissioner Cook: All hands on deck in fighting opioid crisis (statesman.com)
All hands on deck in fighting opioid crisis
Much press has been devoted to covering the opioid epidemic across the country. We here in Williamson County are not immune to opioid use and overdoses. The county has been teaching first responders how to use Narcan, the manufacturer’s name for Naloxone, a compound that when administered displaces opiates from the brain’s receptors, thus reversing their effect.
Taken in high doses, opioids can suppress an individual’s breathing, causing a heart attack and death. The Narcan nasal spray form is safe for dispense by an opioid user’s friends and family members, but it only works if the heart attack has not yet occurred.
The preponderance of opioid street drugs has grown, and most are now spiked with fentanyl, a very strong opioid, once a commonly prescribed pain medication but now a carefully monitored prescription medication. Opioids are addictive and result in strong withdrawal symptoms when their use is suspended.