Narcan nasal spray (Photo: Andrew Beckett)
University of Wisconsin System campuses will get access to free doses of a drug that can be used to treat opiate overdoses.
Attorney General Brad Schimel says Adapt Pharma, which produces Narcan, will provide the nasal spray version of the medication. Schimel says the drug is easy to administer without any special training, making it so easy that a “third grader could understand how to use this.”
UW System President Ray Cross says they know of at least two cases involving on-campus overdoses in the past decade, although his hope is that the supplies never need to be used. “One death of a student and…a community member or staff members because of this is one too many,” he says.
The main focus will be giving the medication to campus police forces, although it could eventually be distributed to other staff.