Thursday, August 17, Deputy Danny Burkitt traveled to Camp Robinson in Little Rock to pick up forty-eight (48) doses of Naloxone, (Narcan) provided by the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership (ARORP) and will be given to all Marion County Deputies, Criminal Investigators, School Resource Officer, and the Detention Center. Officers and jail staff received re-training on Narcan use earlier this Spring.

Naloxone, better known as Narcan, Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist. This means that it attaches to opioid receptors and reverses and blocks the effects of other opioids. Naloxone can quickly restore normal breathing to a person if their breathing has slowed or stopped because of an opioid overdose. But naloxone has no effect on someone who does not have opioids in their system, and it is not a treatment for opioid use disorder. Examples of opioids include heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone (OxyContin®), hydrocodone (Vicodin®), codeine, and morphine. (Source, National Institute of Drug Abuse)

We would like to thank the ARORP Director and Arkansas Drug Director for their hard work in the opioid addiction crisis and for providing this life-saving tool to our department.