New Mexico has one of the in the country, and recent spikes in the state鈥檚 numbers have been linked to the abuse of prescription opiates. But a drug that reverses overdoses is about to become more widely available.
of Las Cruces is a surgeon and the only physician serving in the state鈥檚 Legislature. The Republican carried this session that allows doctors to write prescriptions not just for individuals but for places like recovery centers, shelters and police departments.
"Physicians can write standing orders鈥攁nd I鈥檒l be writing a bunch of these in the near future for various institutions," he said. "I encourage all the patients out there who are on chronic opioid therapy for management of pain to have a prescription for naloxone and I encourage their family members to have one."
The bill also someone who gives naloxone to a person they believe is having an overdose. "We want to distribute this medication widely, so that it can be used and deployed and people feel safe deploying it without risk of any type of litigation," McMillan said. "It鈥檒l save lives."
He added that the drug is administered through the nose, and there are no side effects.
Naloxone is not available over-the-counter yet. That鈥檚 up to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
