The decision makes the drug more accessible: People will be able to buy the nasal spray at places like their local pharmacy or gas station without a prescription. In response to the growing number of opioid overdose deaths- 75 percent of drug overdose deaths in the US in 2020 involved an opioid-the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved an over-the-counter version of naloxone.

He adds that naloxone works against synthetic opioids like fentanyl. “There are very few things I would call a perfect antidote, but, in this case, Narcan is one of them,” says Ryan Marino, a medical toxicologist and addiction medicine specialist at the Case Western Reserve University School of Medicine. Naloxone blocks the brain receptors so that the drugs can’t reach them, preventing this deadly side effect. But they can also affect neurons that control respiration, causing a person to stop breathing if they overdose. Street drugs and prescription painkillers like heroin, morphine, and codeine target opioid receptors in the brain to induce a pleasurable high. It’s possible to reverse an opioid overdose with an injectable or single-dose nasal spray called naloxone (also known by the brand name Narcan). But for the three million people already addicted to this class of drugs, the emphasis has turned to a quick-working treatment: naloxone. Public health officials have taken measures to prevent future overdoses by reducing the number of opioid prescriptions, curbing the flow of illicit drug trafficking, and raising awareness of the dangers of opioids. When it comes to tackling the opioid crisis in America, there is no single solution.

Morphine overdose antidote