House panel OKs wider use of drug to limit heroin deaths

The drug naloxone is used in ambulances and emergency rooms to reverse an overdose from opioids such as heroin. Under a bill approved by a House committee Tuesday, third parties could administer it as well without fear of liability.

House Bill 79, sponsored by Rep. Tom Burch, D-Louisville, would allow doctors to prescribe the drug to someone they believe is able to administer it, such as a family member of a heroin addict. Neither the doctor nor the person administering the drug would be subject to any disciplinary action under Kentucky law.

Daniel Wermeling, a University of Kentucky pharmacy professor who testified to the House Health and Welfare Committee, said some areas where people had more access to naloxone had seen a 50 percent reduction in overdose deaths.

The issue of wider access to naloxone is a national one; the FDA held hearings last year on making it available without a prescription. Naloxone blocks receptors for opioid drugs such as pain killers and heroin, allowing it to reverse the effects of an overdose.

This story was originally published February 27, 2013 at 6:39 AM with the headline "House panel OKs wider use of drug to limit heroin deaths."