In fight with opiate overdoses, N.J. county issues antidote to police

Police in coastal Ocean County in New Jersey, faced with a doubling in deaths from drug overdoses in the past year, have issued all police officers an anti-opiate drug in a pilot program aimed at combating deaths tied to painkiller addiction. Police have already saved six people from overdoses since launching early this month a test of the anti-opiate drug naloxone, which helps restore breathing in people who have overdosed on opiate drugs. "We're on a roll," said Al Della Fave, a spokesman for the county prosecutor's office, which led the effort. In almost every case, their first comment is how great it will be to do something except stand there." The county, home to about 583,000 people, saw 112 overdose deaths in 2013, more than double the 53 recorded in 2012, Della Fave said.



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