17-05-2025
Cuts to narcan program could be detremental, Dothan advocates say
DOTHAN, Ala (WDHN) — Funding for a grant that helps with the distribution of and training to use Naloxone or Narcan, an overdose reversal drug used to battle drug overdoses, could soon be cut.
'This ain't politics y'all. This is people's lives we are talking about here today. This is not just the homeless, this is not just the criminals, this affects everyday normal people,' said Jonathan Riley with Overdose to Action Grant Outreach for P.E.I.R. Dothan.
Narcan is a drug used to save the lives of millions of first responders and other organizations across the country daily. The Trump administration proposed a $56 million cut to the grant, which helps organizations acquire Narcan from the state, cover transportation costs, provide Narcan training, and help people in the recovery process.
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'We're just trying to make sure that people have a chance to live,' said Riley.
In 2024 alone, there were 30-thousand fewer overdose deaths, which is down 27% from 2023, which is a dip credited in part to wider Narcan access.
Riley says he understands that the percentage of overdose deaths is down, but that doesn't mean you can now take it away because drug overdoses are still a problem.
'In the past two weeks that I know of, we have had three overdoses; they were put in local hospitals and put on ventilators. Narcan had to be used to save their lives if there was an overdose. Overdoses are still happening,' said Riley.
Riley, with People Engaged in Recovery in Dothan, a group that helps people through addiction says that cutting these funds would be detrimental, and that if the funding is cut it would make the life-saving drug less accessible and make it harder for organizations and first responders to get the necessary training to use it in an emergency.
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A training that seems scary at first, but it is necessary for saving lives.
'There is nothing to be scared of. Narcan will not affect someone if they are not overdosing. If there is an actual overdose, it will help bring that person back, it will open up their respiratory system again and let them breathe,' said Riley.
Just in the past two months, Riley and others across South Alabama have distributed over 700 boxes of Narcan to those in need.
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