ACCESS TO LIFE-SAVING DRUG APPROVED DESPITE LEPAGE VETO THREATS

AUGUSTA–In a unanimous vote, the Senate gave initial approval to a measure to increase access to a proven life-saving medication that can reverse opioid overdose.

According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, naloxone also known by its brand name, Narcan, has reversed more than 10,000 overdoses between 1996 and 2010.

“I can tell you that most of the time, we are the first to arrive at the scene. Having a safe, accessible, and fast-acting antidote to a heroin overdose will undoubtedly save lives,” said Senator David Dutremble, who works as an emergency responder for the Biddeford Fire Department. “As a first-responder, I urge Governor LePage to once again reconsider his threat of a veto and instead help us help those who are struggling with addiction in our state.”

Under current law, paramedics may administer naloxone and advanced EMTs may do so only with approval from a hospital for each instance. The amended measure would allow law enforcement officers and firefighters to carry and administer naloxone if they have received appropriate medical training. The bill also allows individuals and family members of those in danger of overdosing to obtain a prescription for the drug.

In a press release earlier this week, Governor LePage promised to veto the bill. Since the bill’s introduction, Governor LePage has tried a number of different excuses justifying his impending veto, from cost to providing a safety net for drug addicts. His most recent excuse rests on his displeasure of including first responders among the list of allowable administrators of naloxone, calling it a “poison pill.”

Currently, Maine and New Hampshire are the only states in New England that do not have laws allowing third-parties, including family members, access to naloxone. According to reports from the Quincy, Massachusetts police department, their officers began carrying and administering naloxone and over the course of 18 months, the police department administered the drug 179 times, including reversing 170 overdoses.

The bill, LD 1686, “An Act To Address Preventable Deaths from Drug Overdose,” is sponsored by Rep. Sara Gideon and was previously approved by the House in a 147-0 vote. The bill faces additional votes in the House and Senate before being sent to the governor’s desk.

###