Drug Overdose Antidote to Become Available to Trained Public
The Institute for Health Development is planning to distribute naloxone, a medication used to revive overdosed opiate users, to people who are not health care professionals but have undergone special training.
According to Aljona Kurbatova, head of the institute’s Infectious Diseases and Drug Abuse Prevention Department, the move is necessary to prevent cases of fatal overdose, most of which are caused by the abuse of synthetic opioids.
Postimees reported that the pilot project is already going ahead, with the first training courses currently under way for family and close friends of addicts. The first doses of medication, however, will be distributed only in 2013.
Before the distribution process can start, a number of legislative amendments must be made, as the law allows only health care professionals to inject the medication. Kurbatova said that the institute has already taken steps to resolve the issue.
Estonia currently has one of the EU's highest rates of drug-related deaths per capita. As many as 47 people died from overdoses in the first quarter of this year alone. Last year, the total figure stood at 123.
Ingrid Teesalu