Latest news with #Narcan
New York Post
38 minutes ago
- Health
- New York Post
Tiny puppy saved with Narcan after fentanyl exposure left poor pooch unresponsive
Fast-thinking Washington firefighters used Narcan to save a puppy who had been exposed to fentanyl. The tiny pooch was found unresponsive inside a vehicle where fentanyl was present on Tuesday, and firefighters from the Lacey Fire Department quickly administered a small dose of Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse the effects of an opioid overdose in humans. They were able to revive the tiny pup on the scene and are 'happy to report it's doing well,' the department said in a Facebook post. Advertisement The puppy was revived with Narcan, typically used for human opioid overdoses. instagram/lacey_fire Fire officials said the puppy was found unresponsive inside a vehicle where it was exposed to the deadly drug. instagram/lacey_fire The department shared a photo of one of the responders holding the dog wrapped in a towel after it regained consciousness. Advertisement 'It's not every day we use Narcan on a four-legged patient — but our teams are ready for just about anything,' the department said. Officials have not released any additional details of the incident or the dog's owner. The Post has reached out to the Lacey Police Department to confirm whether or not any arrests were made. Lacey is a suburb of about 50,000 just north of state capital, Olympia.
CBS News
5 hours ago
- CBS News
California mother, grandmother arrested after baby exposed to fentanyl, police say
A California woman and her mother were arrested after police said an infant was exposed to fentanyl during an incident over the weekend. According to the Santa Rosa Police Department, 35-year-old Shaylynne Watson of Lake County and her mother, 54-year-old Beverly Hansel of Santa Rosa, are accused of felony child endangerment. Hansel is also accused of possession of drug paraphernalia. According to a preliminary investigation by Santa Rosa police, Watson brought her four children to her mother's apartment on Range Avenue in Santa Rosa on Sunday. The children ranged in age from 11 months to 9 years. As the three older children were in another room with Hansel, the baby was on the floor of a bedroom with the Watson nearby. Around 7 p.m., the baby picked up a small, white substance the mother feared may have been fentanyl. Watson alerted Hansel, who administered Narcan to the baby to prevent a potential overdose. Police said both women briefly monitored the baby for overdose symptoms before Watson left with all four children. Police said neither woman called 911 following the incident. The baby was brought to the hospital about five hours later. Police said a preliminary investigation determined the infant was exposed to fentanyl. A search warrant was obtained. Around 2:30 p.m., detectives executed a search warrant at Hansel's apartment. Hansel was present as the warrant was served and was detained by detectives pending further investigation. Police said they found narcotics paraphernalia along with pills, methamphetamine and black tar heroin inside the residence. Many of the items were on the floor where the baby was crawling and on surfaces easily accessible to children. Both women were booked into the Sonoma County Main Adult Detention Facility. Police said Child Protective Services of Lake County has taken custody of all four children from Watson. The 11-month-old was treated for fentanyl exposure at the hospital and released. "The Santa Rosa Police Department recognizes the severe threat fentanyl poses to community safety and maintains a zero-tolerance policy regarding accidental exposures to children," police said in a statement. "This means every incident is treated with the utmost seriousness, and all necessary investigative and enforcement actions are taken to protect the most vulnerable members of our community." According to court records, Watson and Hansel are scheduled to appear in court on Wednesday.
CBS News
15 hours ago
- Health
- CBS News
2 Vacaville officers released from hospital after suspected fentanyl exposure
Two Vacaville police officers were released from the hospital Tuesday after showing signs of possible fentanyl exposure during a service call, authorities said. The Vacaville Police Department said that the officers were responding to a call around 5 p.m. on Countrywood Circle when one of them began experiencing symptoms consistent with fentanyl exposure. The second officer quickly administered Narcan, a nasal spray used to reverse opioid overdoses. Soon after giving the Narcan, the second officer also began exhibiting similar symptoms. Both officers were taken to a nearby hospital for treatment and were later discharged. Police said it's unclear when or how the exposure occurred, noting that the officers had responded to several calls together earlier in the day.
Yahoo
2 days ago
- Yahoo
Rochester police officer treated for fentanyl exposure Sunday night
Jul. 14—ROCHESTER — A Rochester Police officer was taken to a hospital for possible fentanyl exposure Sunday evening after responding to a call for a possible overdose. Police were called to the Circle K at 400 Fourth St. SE for a report of a man possibly overdosing. A 43-year-old man with an outstanding arrest warrant was being treated by Mayo Clinic Ambulance Services when police arrived at the Circle K around 9 p.m., according to Rochester Police. While police searched the man's belongings before taking him into custody, they found drug paraphernalia. Although police were using personal protective equipment, according to reports, one of the officers began experiencing symptoms of fentanyl exposure. The officer was given Narcan and taken to Mayo Clinic Hospital-St. Marys and released later, according to the Rochester Police Department.
Yahoo
4 days ago
- Health
- Yahoo
Opinion - Cutting federal naloxone funding is cruel and will prove costly
When a public policy saves lives, is wildly cost-effective and enjoys bipartisan support, you might expect politicians to embrace it. Yet the Trump administration is proposing to slash a $56 million federal grant that helps first responders and communities access naloxone, the overdose-reversal medication credited with saving thousands of lives every year. Meanwhile, lawmakers in states, including Idaho, have acted to restrict naloxone distribution to first responders only, ignoring evidence that laypeople, not paramedics or cops, are most likely to prevent a fatal opioid overdose. These moves aren't just cruel, they're fiscally reckless. Sold under the brand name Narcan, naloxone is a miracle of modern public health. This opioid antagonist is administered as a nasal spray that blocks opioids' effects, instantly reversing overdose symptoms with a more than a 90 percent success rate, even when administered by untrained bystanders. It is non-addictive, safe, does not affect non-opioid users and is shelf-stable for years. Best of all, it's cheap, costing mere pennies to manufacture per dose. Increased access to naloxone, which became an over-the-counter medication in 2023, is a key factor in the decline of U.S. opioid overdose deaths by nearly 27 percent in 2024, according to provisional data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That is the largest single-year decline on record. Similar results have been observed at a smaller scale, with states and communities that acted to increase public access to naloxone experiencing fewer overdose deaths. Opponents of increased naloxone access often argue that it 'enables' drug use or categorize such spending as 'waste.' To the contrary, decades of research show harm-reduction programs — such as naloxone distribution, needle exchange services and supervised consumption sites — do not increase drug use. In fact, harm-reduction services often serve as a gateway to long-term treatment for substance use disorders. But these programs don't just save lives; they save money. Deaths from opioid overdoses cost the U.S. an estimated $685 billion in 2017 alone due to loss of life, lost productivity and increased health care and criminal justice costs. Consequently, preventing overdose deaths helps the economy, with up to $840,000 in savings for each death prevented, by some estimates. Naloxone is one of the most cost-efficient ways to prevent such deaths, with some researchers estimating that every dollar invested in naloxone distribution saves $2,742 in life-years (the economic value of years-of-life saved by averting overdose deaths). The Trump administration's proposed cuts to the naloxone distribution program — part of a broader dismantling of the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration — would gut programs that train and equip communities to respond to overdoses. At the same time, the White House has focused its approach to the opioid crisis on enforcement — targeting cartels, imposing tariffs on Mexico and increasing border and immigration crackdowns as a means of curtailing the fentanyl supply. This approach might sound tough, but it ignores two critical realities. First, the overwhelming majority of fentanyl trafficking in the U.S. is committed by American citizens, who made up 86.4 percent of federal fentanyl trafficking convictions in 2023. Second, the fentanyl is already here. No amount of border interdictions or supply-side crackdowns can prevent the thousands who will continue to die as illicit drug markets adapt to bypass enforcement measures. In fact, the fentanyl crisis itself is partly the consequence of previous crackdowns on opioids. The 'iron law of prohibition' says that illicit substances become more potent and dangerous as enforcement intensifies, due to traffickers seeking easier-to-smuggle alternatives. When authorities clamped down on prescription opioids and heroin trafficking, traffickers adapted by shifting to fentanyl — a cheaper, more potent and easier-to-smuggle alternative. Rather than reducing opioid overdose deaths, further crackdowns on fentanyl will likely have the opposite effect, increasing deaths as traffickers pivot to stronger substances, such as xylazine. Defunding naloxone distribution programs will neither end addiction nor save money. It will only ensure that more Americans needlessly die of overdoses and impose unnecessary financial burdens on local healthcare systems. If policymakers are serious about saving lives and maintaining fiscal responsibility, they should invest more, not less, in naloxone distribution programs. When a public health approach is this effective, cost-efficient and life-saving, failure to support it is more than negligence. It is a cruel mistake that we cannot afford. Michelle Minton is a senior policy analyst at the Reason Foundation. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
