With heroin use on the rise in Alabama, health officials were looking for ways to prevent and decrease deaths from heroin overdoses. They may have found their answer in Naloxone.

Naloxone, commonly known as Narcan, has the incredible ability to reverse the effects of an overdose if administered to the drug user in time. It does not produce any sort of high and it is a non-addictive substance. State Representative Allen Treadaway (R-Morris) refers to it as a miracle drug. Treadway also serves as a Birmingham Police captain and he has brought HB 208 intot he Alabama legislature to include access to Naxolone.

The bill would allow doctors to prescribe Naxolone to someone struggling with heroin addiction or someone close to that person so that the drug can be easily accessible and administered in the case of a heroin overdose. It will also allow police officers to carry and administer Naxolone in the event of an overdose. This could have a substantial impact on the law enforcement in rural areas.

Treadway says, “They’re the first ones on the scene, sometimes 20 or 30 minutes before any medical personnel can reach the scene…It’ll allow for medical personnel to get to the scene and get the individual transported to a medical facility.”

Over half the country has some sort of Naloxone access law. Some lawmakers were weary of the change, worrying that carrying and administering Naxolone would be mandatory, but it is not. It is permitted but not required.

“To be able to have something [that requires] minimal training to administer and can save a life, I can tell you it’s something I would chose to carry,” said Treadaway.