As the number of adolescent deaths due to opioid overdoses continues to rise, U.S. Rep. Dave Joyce (R-OH) recently introduced new legislation to help prevent student overdose deaths by providing schools with naloxone, a safe and effective opioid reversal treatment.
“While I will continue to support substance abuse prevention efforts, it is also critical to make drugs, like naloxone, available in schools to help reverse overdoses,” Rep. Joyce said. “If we can increase access to this drug, we can save lives,” he said, adding that the number of young people dying from overdoses doubled in 2020.
The congressman on May 2 signed on as the lead original cosponsor of the bipartisan School Access to Naloxone Act, H.R. 3065, with bill sponsor U.S. Rep. Dean Phillips (D-MN) to provide support to schools that want to store naloxone for use by trained professionals.
H.R. 3065 would expand eligibility under the Public Health Service Act program Grants for Reducing Overdose Deaths to provide new funding to schools to access and administer naloxone. According to information supplied by Rep. Joyce’s office, the program is currently appropriated at $1 million per year, and each grantee can receive up to $200,000 per grant year. The grants are open to states, localities, or tribes that require schools to stock naloxone, staff to be trained on administering the drug, and civil liability protection for trained personnel who administer naloxone.
“While stemming the domestic and cross-border flow of deadly opioids will take time, we can prevent overdose deaths immediately,” Rep. Phillips said. “Overdoses claimed the lives of almost 1,000 adolescents last year, and requiring schools to have naloxone available for emergencies is an inexpensive, safe, and proven way to protect our children.”