{"id":330,"date":"2026-07-08T13:13:08","date_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:13:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=330"},"modified":"2026-07-08T13:13:08","modified_gmt":"2026-07-08T13:13:08","slug":"naloxone-is-a-proven-fix-for-overdoses-so-why-cant-teens-access-it","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/businessmovingservicess.com\/?p=330","title":{"rendered":"Naloxone Is a Proven Fix for Overdoses. So Why Can\u2019t Teens Access It?"},"content":{"rendered":"
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\n\tLast August, a bunch of students from Seattle\u2019s Garfield High went day-drinking. The party was pretty standard: outdoors, lots of jungle juice, a collective post-finals sigh. In an instant, though, things took a scary turn when a classmate was found unconscious. That\u2019s when Rilan Springer \u2014 adorned with a handmade purple crown denoting that she was there to help anyone who needed, and armed with Narcan, a nasal-spray form of the opioid antidote naloxone \u2014 leaped into action. She administered the medication: one puff up a nostril, just like that. Minutes later, the teen was whisked away to a local medical tent for further treatment.<\/p>\n

Read more So \u2026 What\u2019s Going on With Mitch McConnell?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tThe reversal of fortune may have felt like a miracle, but it was no accident. It\u2019s the entire raison d\u2019etre of Garfield High\u2019s Bulldogs Against Overdose student group. Max Zimbron Martinez, who served as the group\u2019s president this past school year, says its creation was in part a recognition of the nationwide opioid crisis, and in part a response to what Garfield students, like teens in so many cities across the country, witness in their own community.<\/p>\n

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\n\tFor example, the route to Zimbron Martinez\u2019 favorite thrifting spot, the Salvation Army in Chinatown, where he sources overlooked, swagged old necklaces, takes him down a staircase where hunched-over people gather to share hits of fentanyl and other drugs. The proximity has helped him to view those struggling with addiction as \u201cjust people,\u201d he says. \u201cLiving here, and seeing with my own eyes how harsh opiates and fentanyl are motivates the work I do. By distributing Narcan and educating ourselves, we can maybe prevent suffering.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\tUnfortunately, it\u2019s not easy for young people across the country to access the kind of life-saving measures that were used at that party. That\u2019s despite the fact that in the past decade, tens of thousands of Americans have died from opioid overdoses. Young people have been particularly impacted: Opioids are the leading killer of 19-to-24-year-olds in the U.S. today. (Historically, guns and car accidents have vied for that wretched title.)<\/p>\n

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\n\tIt\u2019s also despite the fact that experts say the introduction of therapies like Narcan is one reason the opioid death toll in America actually has been falling since 2023. At the microscopic level, naloxone works by keeping opioids from binding to people\u2019s cells, preventing the comas and respiratory collapse associated with overdoses. It can also be administered via intramuscular injection or by IV. Studies estimate that the medication could reduce overdose deaths in the United States by up to one-third; Narcan\u2019s promise could be even greater in youth overdoses, which more commonly occur with people around who could help \u2014 if armed with the med.<\/p>\n

\n\tBut a morass of state prescribing rules, minor consent laws, Good Samaritan laws (which protect people from liability who jump in to administer help in an emergency), and educational practices have made getting therapies like Narcan in the hands of young people difficult. One recent study found that while 90 percent of school nurses said they had access to naloxone, over a third reported restrictions on who else could administer the medication, and only a small minority deputized students themselves to use it.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tAccording to Sarah Bagley, pediatrician and medical director of one of the nation\u2019s leading addiction clinics for teens at Boston University, some of the reluctance to discuss Narcan comes from an old-school way of thinking about drug education. \u201cThe thought is that because you\u2019re teaching them [something related to] drugs, they\u2019re going to start using them,\u201d Bagley says, \u201c[or] that they\u2019re going to use drugs when they otherwise wouldn\u2019t, because they have Narcan there.\u201d But, she counters, \u201cjust because we don\u2019t talk about things that are hard doesn\u2019t mean they\u2019re not happening.\u201d\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tA bipartisan coalition of senators is seeking to change the national landscape around naloxone. The School Access to Naloxone Act, introduced in January, would provide grant funding to schools to obtain the generic version of Narcan and train school personnel how to use it. The bill would also provide liability protections to those who use the therapy in good faith.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cSchools across the country are still facing real barriers to stocking and using naloxone \u2014 even though it is a proven, life-saving tool,\u201d Florida Sen. Rick Scott, a lead co-sponsor of the bill, said in a statement to Rolling Stone.<\/em> \u201cThis needs to change immediately\u2026 Congress must step up and do more to protect our kids and grandkids.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tBut while the bill remains in committee, students continue to face barriers accessing Narcan.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more What Does J.D. Vance Believe?<\/a><\/p>\n

\n\tFor one, there\u2019s the issue of prescribing laws. In all 50 states, students can be prescribed and have the right to carry life-saving therapies like epinephrine (used to treat severe allergic reactions) and inhalers. But naloxone is typically excluded from such life-saving medication lists. (While the aerosolized version can now be bought over the counter, many other formulations still require a prescription.) And while in some states, minors can consent to their own medical care \u2014 such as receiving a naloxone prescription \u2014 in others, they need a parent\u2019s blessing. Asking teens to explain to their parents why they need an opioid antidote? That can be a tall order.<\/p>\n

\n\tGood Samaritan laws (or GSLs) likewise contain \u201csubstantial differences\u201d from state to state, according to a 2022 article by researchers from New York University and elsewhere, \u201cwhich may impact their effectiveness.\u201d While some GSLs only provide legal protections for low-level offenses, like possession or paraphernalia, others offer greater immunity, such as safeguarding bystanders who call the police from arrest, prosecution, and punitive sentencing. (The researchers found that GSLs with arrest protection led to a 10 percent reduction in opioid overdoses in counties across the country.) Still other states, such as California and Washington, offer so-called two-party GSLs that also buffer those experiencing the overdose against severe legal consequences.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n\tThomas Agostini, a pediatrician in Washington state, says those safety nets are crucial for young people. \u201cYouth have an understandable fear that if they call for emergency services they\u2019re going to get their [overdosing] friend in some sort of legal trouble,\u201d Agostini says.<\/p>\n

\n\tWhen it comes to educational practices, in an era of federal censorship of harm-reduction practices in favor of what the Trump administration calls \u201cPatriotic Education,\u201d discussing naloxone is taking a backseat in classrooms across the country. Department of Education data showed that, preceding this administration during the 2024-2025 school year, only about one in 20 students had any Narcan training.<\/p>\n

\n\tSuch resistance to naloxone education, lawmakers say, flatly contrasts with students\u2019 desires. \u201cAs I meet with Oregonians in each of our 36 counties for town hall conversations, I hear about the need to combat the opioid crisis, especially from our younger generations who are demanding effective solutions to this epidemic,\u201d Oregon Sen. Jeff Merkley said in a press release. \u201cHelping schools stock and administer it is an important part of what needs to be a multi-pronged effort to tackle opioid overdoses.\u201d<\/p>\n

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\n\tIn the meantime, grassroots organizations like Garfield High\u2019s Bulldogs Against Overdose are pushing forward. For its May 2025 launch via Instagram, the group posted a video highlighting that students could get access to Narcan for free through the student health center. It also provided coaching on how to use it, details on local GSLs, and dropped a couple QR codes for more info. To date, Bulldogs Against Overdose has taught students in more than 20 classrooms the fundamentals of Narcan administration and, with the help of the school\u2019s health center, distributed close to 150 Narcan kits.<\/p>\n

\n\tOh, and the kid who was found unconscious at that summer siesta? Today, he\u2019s one of the Bulldogs Against Overdose.<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cI think it would be good if people realize that putting things in a lockbox and telling people no isn\u2019t going to stop a teenager,\u201d Zimbron Martinez says. \u201cMost of the day, [parents] aren\u2019t seeing them, [they\u2019re] out of [adults\u2019] control\u2026Giving people these life-saving things is the best thing you can do.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n\t\u201cWe all have a little bit of power,\u201d he adds. And with naloxone, he stresses, \u201cwe\u2019re talking life and death.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Graham Platner Will \u2018Reflect on Best Path Forward\u2019 After Sex Assault Allegation<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

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