Kirk, Officials Call For More First Responders To Carry Narcan
(CBS) -- Senator Mark Kirk is pushing the suburbs to join his fight with the federal government to approve Narcan, a nasal form of naxolone--which is used to treat opiate overdoses.
Heroin kills one person every three days in the suburbs. Add Cook County's numbers in there and it almost doubles.
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Dupage County has seen the biggest jump in heroin deaths in the past couple of years. Coroner Dr. Richard Jorgensen says the fed government needs to speed up approval of Narcan because it saves lives.
"We've had 43 uses of this. We've had no times that is has been used where the person went on to die," Jorgensen said.
Lake County State's Attorney Michael Nerheim agrees and says the FDA needs to put Narcan on the fast track before more people die.
"With this method, there is one step, It is very cost-effective, 15 dollars. You don't have to worry about the needle," Nerheim said.
Narcan was developed by a pharmacist at the University of Kentucky who says the crackdown on prescription drugs has led to more heroin abuse.
