Assessing The Benefits and Potential Drawbacks of Naloxone

Assessing the Benefits and Potential Drawbacks of Naloxone

The rate of opioid overdose has increased significantly in many countries over the past few decades, owing partly to the increased accessibility to opioids meant to manage chronic pain and the availability of highly potent opioids such as fentanyl in the illicit drug market. Opiate misuse is closely associated with high morbidity and mortality as people overdose. Naloxone is the only antidote for life-saving in the management of opioid overdose. Opioid overdose is a serious public health concern, and naloxone has played a crucial role in reducing overdose-related fatalities. The following is an analysis of the benefits and potential drawbacks of using naloxone to treat an opioid overdose.

Fourth, Naloxone is easily accessible. According to Jordan (2023) and Evoy et al. (2021), Naloxone has been made more accessible legally. Naloxone access laws in the US states have facilitated the increased distribution of naloxone, boosting community access to naloxone. As a result, the accessibility to the medication has reduced opioid-related overdose mortality (Evoy et al., 2021).

Third, while naloxone has been made more accessible by the government, it remains expensive and, therefore, less accessible to some parties. Depending on the form of Naloxone being used, there are varying prices for the medication. However, an intranasal naloxone rescue kit in the USA costs between $22 and $60. This might be out of the range of some first responders and bystanders, minimizing its effectiveness in the community for emergency purposes.

Jordan, M. R. (2023, April 29). Naloxone. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK441910/

O’Malley, G. F., & O’Malley, R. (2023, August 29). Opioid toxicity and withdrawal. MSD Manual Professional Edition. https://www.msdmanuals.com/professional/special-subjects/illicit-drugs-and-intoxicants/opioid-toxicity-and-withdrawal#:~:text=Because%20the%20duration%20of%20action,life%20of%20the%20opioid%20involved.

Parkin, S., Neale, J., Brown, C., Campbell, A. N., Castillo, F., Jones, J. D., Strang, J., & Comer, S. D. (2020). Opioid overdose reversals using naloxone in New York City by people who use opioids: Implications for public health and overdose harm reduction approaches from a qualitative study. International Journal of Drug Policy, 79, 102751. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.drugpo.2020.102751