OKLAHOMA CITY – The Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association is supplying every Oklahoma sheriff and their deputies with a dosage of NARCAN® Nasal Spray, the drug that can reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. An event was held today at the Oklahoma State Capitol to announce the donation and provide a demonstration of how law enforcement can easily administer the life-saving drug.
EMS Medical Director and Reserve Deputy Sheriff Bill Worden was joined by sheriff’s across the state, including Logan County Sheriff Damon Devereaux and Undersheriff Troy Dykes, to discuss and demonstrate the effect of the nasal spray.
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OSA’s donation effectively provides every sheriff and deputy in the state with a dosage of the opioid antidote to use in emergency overdose situations. The donation from the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association makes Oklahoma one of the only states to outfit county law enforcement with the opioid counteractive agent.
“Nearly 1,000 Oklahomans are killed by prescription drug overdoses every year,” OSA President and Pawnee County Sheriff Mike Waters said. “There are over 1,800 deputies in the state of Oklahoma. It is our hope that this donation from the OSA will permit our sheriffs and deputies to save lives in the event of an overdose by administering the drug in those emergencies.”
Medical Director Bill Worden, Sheriff Damon Devereaux and Undersheriff Troy Dykes at the State Capitol.
OSA joins the fight alongside top state leaders to combat this issue facing Oklahoma’s communities, including Oklahoma Attorney General Mike Hunter who has made this a focus of his office and Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Terri White. Their collective leadership has led to collaborative efforts among elected officials, law enforcement, physicians and communities to defeat this crisis.
NARCAN is an easy to administer nasal spray. No injections or assembly of a syringe and vial or pre-filled cartage is required. Following FDA approval of NARCAN in 2016, several law enforcement agencies began carrying the antidote with lifesaving results.
Training and free NARCAN dosages are available to County Sheriffs’ through the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association. Trainings are being scheduled now throughout the state with the first taking place on February the 7 at the Embassy Suites in Norman. All law enforcement agencies can continue to receive training and the product through the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
For more information about the Oklahoma Sheriffs’ Association Narcan Project and scheduled trainings click here.
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