August 31st is International Overdose Awareness Day, and the North Dakota Department of Health and Human Services is marking the occasion by highlighting prevention resources available in the state that can save lives.
James Knopik is State Opioid Treatment Authority with HHS. He says this day is also for remembering loved ones who were lost to drug overdoses, and recognizing the grief of their families and friends. He says there is hope to prevent overdoses in the future. A number of treatment facilities are listed on the HHS website, and Knopik says Naloxone is widely available. Naloxone is an opioid overdose reversal medication.
"It's available as an over the counter drug now, and this medication can be requested for free by contacting our department at 701-328-8920, or going to our website www.hhs.nd.gov. You can request a free kit of the medication, and we will mail you Naloxone you can carry with you in case you witness an overdose, or if you have somebody in your life you're concerned about you can have Naloxone on hand for those events as well."
North Dakota’s Good Samaritan Law protects individuals who administer Naloxone in good faith, and contact 911 during an opioid overdose.
Signs of an overdose can include unresponsiveness, slow or stopped heartbeat or breathing, a limp body with blue-tinged fingernails or lips, and vomiting or gurgling noises.
North Dakota has recorded 575 overdose deaths in the past five years.