Drug store steps up to save lives

Correction:The print and earlier version of this story incorrectly stated that the kits are free. The store can prescribe them and bill insurance. Without insurance, the cost is $100.

In hopes of preventing needless deaths, La Conner Drug Store has begun dispensing kits with a medication that will reverse the effects of opiate overdoses.

Each kit contains two doses of the drug Naloxone, which acts as an antidote to opium without having any harmful effects of its own.

Opiate-based drugs are the most common sources of overdoses in this part of the country, said La Conner Pharmacy Manager Leslie Grimes.

She said that people tend to think of overdoses as happening to illegal drug addicts, but there are actually as many or more overdoses that occur as a result of prescription drugs.

Seniors on pain medication, for example, can be at risk of accidental overdose, should they lose track of their dosing schedule.

“Overdose is a huge problem in our community…it’s the leading cause of poisoning deaths,” said Grimes.

Throughout the state, “there are more deaths from overdose in Washington than from motor vehicle accidents,” she said. That is shocking to Grimes, and fuels her drive to prevent overdose deaths through the distribution of the kits.

Grimes explained that one reason overdoses from illegal drugs are often fatal is because witnesses at parties, who themselves are partaking of drugs, are afraid to call 911.

However, in 2010, Washington enacted the Good Samaritan Law, which protects anyone who phones 911 for an overdose from being prosecuted for using or possessing illegal drugs.

Still, even when 911 is phoned, there is often not enough time to save the victim; overdoses must be acted on immediately.

This is where the Naloxone kits come in. The first dose of the drug, which is administered through the nose, must be given as soon as the victim exhibits signs of overdose. At the same time, someone else should call 911.

The second dose should be given three to five minutes later if there is no response from the patient by that point. After that, said Grimes, everyone must wait for the paramedics to arrive.

Before the Good Samaritan Law passed, it was illegal to give a drug like Naloxone to anyone who intended to give the drug to someone else.

Thankfully, it is now legal to obtain and deliver this life-saving medication to a friend in need.

Grimes encourages anyone who thinks they may ever need the kit for themselves or for an acquaintance or relative stop in at La Conner Drug. A short training session is provided when the kits are prescribed and dispensed.