For new members of 12-step programs like Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous, naloxone can still seem like a symbol of drug use, according to new research. This can cause some people looking to kick drugs through these large abstinence-based fellowships to decline to carry the overdose-reversal drug, seeing it as a relic of a past life.
The campaign launched this week with billboard pictures of people who have chosen to share their personal experiences about overdose and naloxone, and uses direct quotes from them with the hope of encouraging and engaging the broader public on this important subject. The billboards are located across London and Manchester, with further locations set to feature the campaign in the coming weeks.
There is a new overdose awareness and naloxone poster campaign launching this week in the UK that features the faces of real community naloxone carriers.
A team of people with experience of drug addiction will be patrolling the streets of Middlesbrough distributing potentially life-saving kits. They will be “engaging” with drug users who are not accessing services, to offer advice as well as naloxone, which can reverse the effects of an overdose.
Police Scotland officers have administered Naloxone for the first time, within two hours of receiving training in the use of the spray to reverse an opioid-related drug overdose. The constables, who are participating in a six-month test of change for the carriage and use of intra-nasal naloxone spray, responded to a call in Glasgow’s East End last night (Tuesday, 9 March, 2021) and successfully administered the reversal agent, stabilised the man until Scottish Ambulance Service clinicians attended and took over emergency medical care.
On the 1st of February, CGLs Peer Naloxone Education (PNE) team started their day with a briefing on the main objective: reaching out to as many people as possible while adhering to the social distancing rules currently in place. These were not the only challenges they faced. With rain and snow and temperatures dipping below zero, the task at hand was not easy. However, with their “Naloxone saves lives” hoodies they were dressed for the weather and ready for action.
