The Indiana attorney general is putting a “surge” of heroin and opioid antidote into the field in order to combat a rising number of overdose deaths. The A-G announced $127 thousand in grants to three organizations Thursday to buy more Naloxone kits and train first responders on how to use them.
Attorney General Greg Zoeller calls this a “triage” phase of reducing opioid addiction. The first part, he says, is cracking down on the oversupply of strong painkillers.
“I think they’re still training doctors to focus too much on the use of opioid as a pain relief when in fact I think the risks are starting outweigh some of the rewards,” says Zoeller.
Money will go to three nonprofits working in 16 counties to reduce deaths from heroin and prescription painkiller use. That includes southern Indiana’s Scott County, where an HIV outbreak last year began to shed light on the opioid addiction epidemic.
The grant money is funded through a settlement the A-G reached with prescription drug makers