23 police departments get naloxone
About $50,000 from the state’s Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund will go toward the purchase of 450 naloxone kits.
- Only six of the 47 departments across Delaware currently carry naloxone.
- The medicine attaches to opiate receptors in the brain, knocking off the chemicals that attach to them in order to provide the “high.”
- The state’s Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund is often used to fund technology, guns and new vehicles.
Twenty-three police departments across Delaware will now carry the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, a purchase funded by money taken off the streets during drug seizures.
State Attorney General Matt Denn announced Thursday the new allocation of about $50,000 from the state’s Special Law Enforcement Assistance Fund, which is often used to fund technology, guns and new vehicles.
A committee of police chiefs from across the state make recommendations to Denn on what the fund's money should be used for, but the attorney general ultimately signs off on the allocations.
The funds will go toward the purchase of 450 naloxone kits. Prior to the new funds, only six departments carried naloxone, more commonly known as Narcan. Departments will partner with the Delaware Division of Public Health, which will purchase and distribute the kits and train officers.
"This really is meant to be startup funding," Denn said. "It's a big public health issue that, over the long run, the state ought to be funding as part of the state's public health issue."
The medicine attaches to opiate receptors in the brain, knocking off the chemicals from the drug that attach to them in order to provide the “high” associated with painkillers and heroin.
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State Prosecutor Kathy Jennings, who sat in on many of the SLEAF meetings concerning naloxone, said chiefs across the state were adamant about getting more funding for this cause. The high cost of naloxone kits and the short shelf life of the medicine makes it difficult for police departments to afford the kits using their own budgets, she said.
“Delaware is in the middle of an opioid addiction epidemic like much of the nation,” said Division of Public Health Director Dr. Karyl Rattay. “Too many people are dying. Naloxone is a proven method for reversing drug overdoses and expanding access in the community can save lives."
New Castle County Police Department, which was the first large department in the state to carry naloxone, typically administers the nasal spray, though it is also available as an auto-injector similar to an EpiPen. The average cost of one packet, which typically contains about two doses, is a little over $100, Denn said.
Because the state funding won't last, Jennings hopes departments will find alternate dollars to support the program once these initial kits run out. Legislation signed in 2014 by Gov. Jack Markell allows law enforcement to carry and administer naloxone, a duty not typically asked of police officers before.
Other agencies are also seeking support for buying naloxone through different funding measures, she said.
Many of these efforts to make naloxone available throughout the state came from atTAcK Addiction, a grassroots organization started by parents who lost children to opiate addiction, Denn said.
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All six departments have saved lives using the overdose-reversing drug.
A recent series on heroin addiction by The News Journal called attention to a program in Gloucester, Massachusetts, which uses drug seizure money to fund its Angel program, aimed at treating those with addiction rather than arresting them.
It's unclear whether Delaware will move toward using additional SLEAF funds to aid programs like these. New Castle County Police recently launched Hero Help, which set aside 10 treatment beds at the Kirkwood NET Detox facility for evaluation and placement into treatment.
The program would allow those facing charges to have them dropped if they complete a treatment program of up to 60 days.
"We intend to try whatever means are available to fund programs that reduce the high instance of addiction in the state," Jennings said.
Denn added that though talks about specifically using SLEAF funds for these programs has not yet occurred, he believes a shift in funding will happen soon. With limited resources in the state budget, other departments may be forced to aid law enforcement in getting the help they need to fight addiction.
The Attorney General is also working to strengthen regulations governing the amount of care that health care providers must exercise in prescribing opiate drugs with new regulations. Recently, the governor and the General Assembly approved the creation of a commission to review deaths caused by prescription opiate and heroin overdoses.
Contact Brittany Horn at (302) 324-2771 or bhorn@delawareonline.com. Follow her on Twitter at @brittanyhorn.