Should Minn. make opiate OD antidote Narcan more available?

Narcan user
Al, a University of Minnesota student who asked MPR News not to use his name, displays his heroin tools, including a vial of naloxone. Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a prescription drug used to stop an opiate overdose.
MPR Photo/Jeffrey Thompson

Law enforcement officials have said Minnesota is facing a heroin "epidemic," but many hope a wider distribution of an overdose antidote could help save more lives.

The drug, Narcan, is only available with a prescription in Minnesota. A Centers for Disease Control report from earlier this year found that the drug has saved 10,000 lives in 14 years.

Dr. Gavin Bart, director of addiction medicine at Hennepin County Medical Center, will join The Daily Circuit Tuesday to talk about the drug and what wider distribution would mean for opiate addicts in the state.

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