CHARLESTON, W.Va. — A bill which would allow emergency responders and some individuals to possess and administer a drug capable of counter-acting a heroin overdose is headed to Gov. Earl Ray Tomblin’s office if its chamber of origin is OK with a few technical amendments.
The House of Delegates passed Senate Bill 335, known as the “Access to Anti-Opioids Act,” 99-0 on Wednesday. It also unanimously cleared the Senate on Feb. 2.
The bill allows medical responders and law enforcement officers to carry naloxone, a drug that counteracts the suppression of respiratory function and brain activity caused by a heroin overdose or an overdose of other opiate substances such as morphine or oxycodone.
The legislation also allows physicians to prescribe the drug, which is not a controlled substance, to those at risk of an overdose, or any relatives, friends or caregivers who might be able to administer it…
