The Tragedy of Philip Seymour Hoffman: How We Can Prevent Overdose Deaths

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http://www.alternet.org/tragedy-philip-seymour-hoffman-preventing-overdose-deaths



The suspected overdose death of Philip Seymour Hoffman is hitting millions of people, including myself, like a tsunami today. The story keeps unfolding and the tragedy just keeps compounding. Recent reports are suggesting that he was discovered with a needle in his arm and bags of a substance (presumed to be heroin) nearby. Like many of you, I was a huge fan of his, considered him to be the most gifted actor of his generation. And like many of you, I am horrified to think that he died from something so often easily prevented.

What makes the death of Philip Seymour Hoffman all the more tragic is that it happened in New York, a state with a wide array of policies and services designed to reduce drug overdose deaths and save the lives of people who use drugs. New York has a 911 Good Samaritan law, which offers some protection from drug charges for people who call 911 to report a suspected overdose. Many people panic at the scene of an overdose, fearing they or the overdose victim will be arrested for possessing small amounts of drugs. Good Samaritan laws in over a dozen states, including New York, encourage people to act quickly to save a life without fear of drug charges for minor violations. New Yorkers also have limited access to the opiate overdose reversal medicine naloxone. If administered right away, naloxone can can reverse an overdose and restore normal breathing.
Naloxone is generic, inexpensive, non-narcotic, works quickly and is not only safe, but also easy to use. It's been around since the 1970s and has saved tens of thousands of lives. New York also just this week introduced legislation to expand access to it.

So many states are just now starting to take some great steps to get naloxone in the hands of more people. Hoffman's death perfectly illustrates how terribly urgent this is. Even the Office of National Drug Control Policy is supporting naloxone in the hands of cops. But we can't stop there. It's not enough for law enforcement and EMT's to have access to naloxone -- people who use drugs and others who might witness an opiate overdose must have that same access. Whoever is the first to respond to the overdose, the actual "first responder," must be permitted access to naloxone, period. We need to make sure that local and federal governments are on board and that we're getting naloxone into as many pharmacies as possible.

Over the coming days, we'll likely learn a great deal more about Hoffman, his drug use and his personal demons. Some will likely call his death a "teachable moment." But we need to ensure that what we're teaching includes basic drug user safety information -- information that can absolutely save lives. We need to start talking about harm reduction and how to help people stay alive if they use drugs. If you use heroin and no one has ever told you to avoid mixing alcohol or other sedatives with heroin because it increases your risk of overdose, we have failed you. We don't have to like a persons drug use, in fact, we can hate it. But at the very least, we need to do some very basic, lifesaving education about it.

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2. CA has legalized distribution of naloxone to individuals under a local "blanket" prescription.

It allows agencies, pharmacies, syringe exchange programs (SEP), etc. to provide naloxone kits on request. Consists of a two dose vial, two sterile syringes, instructions. (Some choose to offer the nasal spray formulation.) Just about every SEP in the state is offering or planning to offer them to exchange participants. Agencies are also offering them to parents / friends of opiate users to have on hand if needed.

Coupled with the Good Samaritan legislation it represents a real world, real time response to decrease opiate overdose deaths.