Beginning July 1, 2019, each Mar-Mac Police District’s patrol vehicle will be supplied with Naloxone HCI, commonly known as Narcan. Narcan is an opioid antagonist drug used to counter the effects of opiate overdose and is specifically used to counteract life-threatening depression of the central nervous system and respiratory system.
An opiate is any controlled substance containing or compounded to be a derivative of morphine and morphine sulfate. The term opiate describes any of the narcotic opioid alkaloids found as natural products in the opium poppy plant Papaver somniferum. Commonly encountered opiates in law enforcement include: Heroin, Morphine, Oxycontin, Percocet, Percodan, Fentanyl, Dilauded, Demerol, Lortab, Methadone, Codeine, Tylox, Vicodin, and Synthetic Analgesics.
In the event a Mar-Mac officer is dispatched to an incident involving or suspected an opiate overdose, trained officers can now administer a Narcan nasal spray in adults and children.
According to the National Institute of Drug Abuse, in 2017, there were 206 overdose deaths in Iowa involving opiate – a rate of 6.9 deaths per 100,000 persons. Nationally, the average rate is 14.6 deaths per 100,000.
The Narcan was provided through the Naloxone Law Enforcement Initiative and open to all Iowa law enforcement agencies. This initiative was sponsored by the Iowa Department of Public Health, the Iowa State Sheriffs’ and Deputies’ Association, and the Iowa Police Chiefs Association.
Robert Millin, Chief of Police
Mar-Mac Police District
