The following is on file with the Evesham Township Police Department:
Evesham Police responded to the unit block of Lee Court early Thursday morning, Oct. 15, following a 911 call reporting an unresponsive male that had overdosed on heroin. This was the second heroin overdose the officers handled during their shift.
Responding officers found the victim lying unresponsive and not breathing inside the home. Officers quickly administered nasal narcan and revived the victim, who was then taken by the Evesham Rescue squad and paramedics to a local hospital for further medical treatment.
All 75 of Evesham sworn officers, are trained and issued nasal Narcan kits. Narcan is a brand name of the generic drug naloxone hydrochloride. When someone is not breathing adequately because of an opioid overdose, there are only minutes to intervene. Narcan reverses an overdose caused by an opioid drug, such as heroin, and can restore breathing within a few minutes.
In 2013, legislators passed the Opioid Antidote and Overdose Prevention Act, which made it legal for law enforcement officials to carry Naloxone/Narcan, a heroin antidote previously only available to hospital staff.
The act provides immunity for witnesses and drug overdose victims, and allows both healthcare professionals or pharmacists and non-healthcare professionals to dispense the antidote in emergency situations.
