A heroin epidemic has been a huge issue in our nation and only seems to continue getting worse. Adults and teens, of any race, from anywhere, and in any social class or status have been using, overdosing, and dying due to heroin. Stories, pictures, and videos always seem to be circulating the internet talking about someone using heroin or committing crimes in order to get more heroin. Those who are addicted will go through whatever it takes just to get more and fulfill their high. So what’s the solution to such a terrible problem?
As of lately, Narcan, also known as its generic name naloxone, has become more widely available and used to save heroin users from an overdose. Narcan is available as an over-the-counter drug in many states for doctors to refer heroin users to use, and all emergency responders are trained to carry and administer Narcan. But this is where the ethical debates come in.
Those who use heroin will see Narcan as an escape route. They know that if someone is there with them or they are found in an overdosed state, the Narcan injection will help revive them and bring them out of the overdose. Some say that it only takes one overdose for the user to realize how easy it is to go too far and they’ll stop, while many others think it will reverse the situation and enable heroin users to do it even more often as they can rely on the Narcan in events of overdoses. There is no way to force someone to go into rehab or get the actual help they need after being caught and saved from an overdose, so there is no way to make sure it doesn’t keep occurring. Many people also question why someone can be saved from the use of an illegal drug without any consequences. Due to the “Good Samaritan” laws in all 50 states, police cannot typically arrest someone from an illegal drug overdose. Although it is not morally right to just let someone die, it is extremely hard to understand how they can freely go back to doing the same thing and continually be revived from overdoses. Emergency responders are often called back to the same people several days in a row, but there is no way to get them to realize they need more help, so they keep on going with it. Additionally, many users who receive Narcan for an overdose come out of it and are extremely angry because you took away their high and it was a wasted use, as well as often becoming very sick because it snaps them out of the high so quickly that their body immediately goes through a withdrawal. Not all addicts and users who get Narcan for an overdose return to using, as some do realize that there is more to life than drugs, but for many that’s not the case. Ultimately, the biggest underlying issue is getting treatment after the overdose to prevent it from happening again, and Narcan does not contribute to that. It saves someone and lets them go with nothing else to offer but another revival.
The line between saving a life and further enabling an addiction is becoming very thin and blurred. So, although Narcan is a quick solution to a huge problem, is it the most ethical or reliable fix to such a horrible epidemic?
