As part of an ongoing effort to prevent drug overdose deaths in Nevada, the Division of Public and Behavioral Health and the Nevada Overdose Data to Action (OD2A) program announced that the potentially life-saving medication Naloxone is now available statewide without a prescription and free for all Nevadans.

The Nevada State Unintentional Drug Overdose Reporting System (SUDORS) reported that the rate of accidental drug overdose deaths among Nevadans has seen a 20% increase from January 2020 to June 2021. This report showed that two-thirds of the deaths involved an opioid, over half of the deaths involved a stimulant such as methamphetamine or cocaine, and a quarter of deaths involved an opioid and stimulant together.

According to the National Institute of Health (NIH), opioids are a class of drugs that include the illegal drug heroin, synthetic opioids such as fentanyl, and pain relievers available legally by prescription, such as oxycodone, hydrocodone, codeine, morphine, and many others. 

Fatal overdose from opioids is avoidable with the use of the opioid antagonist Naloxone which rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. The medication is safe to use in the case of a suspected overdose and is approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).

“Overdose deaths in Nevada continue to climb,” said Elyse Monroy, OD2A Program Manager with UNR. “And the State’s SUDORS data tells us that some of the people who unintentionally died by overdose in 2021 may have had a missed intervention point. Overdosing doesn’t have to be fatal. Access to treatment services and harm reduction supports can help curb overdose fatalities.”

Nevadans are encouraged to reach out to the following resources if they are looking for Naloxone or treatment resources:

(The Nevada Department of Health and Human Services assisted with this report)