EuroNPUD have released their Technical Briefing on Peer to Peer Naloxone which includes information, case studies and guidance on developing Peer2Peer models of naloxone distribution.

The Welsh drug support service Barod have started a naloxone delivery service for anyone based in Wales allowing easier access to thelife saving medication that can temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose, including those related to heroin, methadone, morphine, buprenorphine and codeine.

The EMCDDA has launched a new online knowledge questionnaire on overdose and take-home naloxone aimed at potential bystanders of overdose, but also at a wider interested public. The main aim of the questionnaire is to refresh respondents’ knowledge on opioids, overdose risks and the role of take-home naloxone as part of the overall response to overdose deaths.

Many people overdose in the presence of their partners or peers. Empowering friends, family and other bystanders to act effectively, before emergency services arrive at the scene, can therefore save lives. Overdose prevention programmes, combining first aid training with the provision of the overdose-reversal drug naloxone, were piloted in Europe in the late 1990s. Now available at local or national level in 12 European countries, these take-home naloxone (THN) programmes are targeted at-risk opioid users and those likely to witness an overdose.