Overdose Lifeline

National Addiction Policy Group Creates Indiana Chapter

By Jill Sheridan • Apr 19, 2018

Clean syringes at a needle exchange. (Jake Harper/Side Effects)

A national addiction policy group launched an Indiana chapter this week with an aim to create more resources for families and individuals struggling with addiction.

The Addiction Policy Forum works to raise awareness and improve policy related to the opioid and addiction crisis.

More Overdose Reversal Drug Coming To Rural Indiana Counties

By Jill Sheridan • Feb 1, 2018

The Indiana State Department of Health has awarded $127,000 in naloxone kits to rural Indiana counties. The opioid overdose reversal medication is going to the counties with high numbers of emergency room overdose visits.

Thirty-four rural counties will receive nearly 3,400 naloxone kits, to be distributed to first responders. The federal grant money is part of a larger $3.2 million gift the state received last year.

Stakeholders Hopeful, But Say Some Opioid Commission Recs Miss The Mark

By Sarah Fentem • Nov 6, 2017

ad31e06d-a377-4171-ba57-1ac2abbd7416 — Bram Sable-Smith / KBIA/Side Effects Public Media

A presidential commission last week released its report on recommendations to help curb the nation’s opioid crisis. Indiana stakeholders say they’re heartened the crisis is receiving national attention but think parts of the report missed the mark.

As Opioids Mix, More Naloxone Needed To Stop Overdoses

By Charlotte Tuggle • May 31, 2017

The overdose reversal drug naloxone is in high demand across Indiana. But the state is now seeing more mixes of opioids causing overdoses. That’s leading first responders to go through their supplies more quickly.

Overdoses caused by multiple types of opioids require larger or repeated doses of naloxone.

Justin Phillips founded the group Overdose Lifeline and says first responders may have to administer as many as a dozen doses of naloxone to combat one overdose caused by a mix of drugs.

Columbus School Officials Increasing Access To Overdose Antidote

By Lindsey Wright • Oct 4, 2016

PunchingJudy / https://www.flickr.com/photos/punchingjudy/1934879517

Bartholomew County school officials say a student overdosed on opioids Monday morning at Columbus East High School in an attempted suicide. A resource officer was able to revive the student with naloxone. School officials now say they plan to increase access to the overdose antidote.

Last spring, four Bartholomew Consolidated School Corporation schools received doses of the overdose intervention drug.

Skyrocketing Naloxone Prices Put Pressure On Local Agencies

By Sarah Fentem • Jul 12, 2016

Thanks to new laws lifting restrictions on the availability of naloxone, the overdose-intervention drug is now easier to find than ever before. But the drug’s skyrocketing price means certain public health agencies are having to hustle to keep it on the shelves.