Beginning tomorrow, all Wayland Patrol Officers will carry the life-saving drug Naloxone in their cruisers. Nasal Naloxone is marketed under the trade name “Narcan” and is used in cases of opioid overdose. The drug can quickly reverse the effects of a potentially fatal overdose by displacing the opioid drug from receptors in the brain. Naloxone does not have significant side effects and it is not dangerous if administered to someone who is not overdosing. The initial doses of Narcan were supplied through a program sponsored the Middlesex District Attorney’s Office.

Wayland officers have been trained in the proper use of the drug, joining Wayland firefighters and school nurses in being able to administer the drug in cases of opioid overdose.

Opioid overdoses are currently a leading cause of death in Massachusetts, with 345 deaths in Middlesex County alone in 2015. The ability for first responders to administer this drug is an important piece in the overall battle against opioid addiction that Massachusetts and many other states are facing today.