Ohio police departments are using up their supplies of the anti-overdose drug naloxone at a faster rate than normal to keep up with the state's high numbers of drug overdoses, reports KWQC.
On Sep. 9, 21 heroin overdoses occurred in a single day in Akron, a Ohio city that has reported 112 overdose deaths this year, according to CNN.
"Just in Warren City alone, our Warren City Police Department has used 59 kits so far this year," said Kathy Parrilla of the Trumbull County Health Department. Last year, the county gave out 96 naloxone kits. This year, it has already distributed 129.
Oftentimes, numerous doses of the drug are needed to counteract the effects of an overdose. On Saturday, Warren police gave two doses of naloxone to a woman, but it was not enough to revive her and EMS had to administer five more doses of the drug.
Ohio's two-year budget designates $1 million in funding for the state's Mental Health and Addiction Services. County health departments can then apply for funding from MHAS. The counties are guaranteed at least $1,800 to buy naloxone kits, which cost $60 to $90 each, for their police departments. Trumbull County, which received $7,629 in funding, has already used most of its money for the year.
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