95bFM Aotearoa 'grossly underprepared' for future opioid crisis, warns Drug Foundation
27 July, 2022
Interview by Emilia Sullivan, adapted by Sophya Guimaraes
Drug Foundation Chief Executive Sarah Helm says the government needs to act now and ensure funding and distribution of naloxone, a medication used to treat opioid overdoses. Photo: New Zealand Drug Foundation.
The New Zealand Drug Foundation is calling on the Government to urgently make a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication, naloxone, more accessible to avoid a fentanyl crisis.
On average there are 46 opioid overdose deaths in Aotearoa each year, but the Drug Foundation says the risk is far greater, with the possibility of fentanyl entering the drug supply as was seen in Wairarapa last month.
Last year alone, an estimated 80,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the US, which is in the grips of a fentanyl crisis.
Naloxone is one of the best tools available to treat opioid overdoses and is available in New Zealand as a nasal spray and in an injectable form.
However, only the nasal spray is available over the counter and it is $92 for a pack of two.
Drug Foundation Chief Executive Sarah Helm, told 95bFM's The Wire that New Zealand is "grossly underprepared" if we were to find ourselves facing an opioid crisis like in North America and Europe if adulterated drugs continue to circulate in the New Zealand drug market.
“The government needs to act now and ensure funding and distribution of naloxone, so it gets into the hands of all first responders and people who use drugs."
The Drug Foundation recently applied to the Medicines Classifications Committee (MCC) for a rule change to allow take-home, over-the-counter naloxone, with no requirement for a prescription.
However, the committee recommended a lesser option, which does allow naloxone to be distributed without a prescription, but only by approved organisations and healthcare providers.
“This change won't help us get naloxone into the hands of the large group of people who are vulnerable to a fentanyl outbreak. We need the Government to step in now," said Helm.
Helm said Australia's take-home scheme has made the medication more accessible to those who need it.
"Australia now offers naloxone free without a prescription to anyone who might experience or witness an opioid overdose, following a successful pilot. We need the same to happen here."
Public interest journalism funded through NZ On Air
