More than Narcan: Other OD rescue medications may be better

The problem with naloxone — trade name Narcan — is that it isn't strong enough in an era of fentanyl to rescue opioid overdose (OD) victims. This isn't new news, it's been publicized in peer‐reviewed journals (see ADAW https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/adaw.34062 ), but it's particularly important now. States have used up all their money for overdose reversal medications on Narcan. And according to experts, not only is it not strong enough, but this policy is going to cause deaths. Last week, as reported in the Buffalo News , a coalition of addiction recovery organizations from across New York state has asked Gov. Kathy Hochul and state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli to get rid of the “purchasing monopoly” on the state's availability of the anti‐opioid overdose Narcan.