Scuffling with a drug disaster, San Francisco desires Narcan obtainable at each pharmacy

SAN FRANCISCO — San Francisco might turn into the primary metropolis within the nation to require each pharmacy inside its boundaries to all the time carry naloxone, a drug that reverses overdoses brought on by fentanyl and different opioids.

San Francisco Supervisor Matt Dorsey will introduce a invoice Tuesday that, if accredited, would require each pharmacy to all the time have in inventory at the least two nasal sprays containing the drug or face fines.

The metropolis has struggled for years with rampant fentanyl use and deadly overdoses, and is on tempo for its deadliest 12 months but.

There have been 647 unintended drug overdose deaths in San Francisco in 2022, and over 70% of these deaths have been attributable to fentanyl, in keeping with the San Francisco Office of the Chief Medical Examiner.

In the primary 5 months of 2023, preliminary reviews present there have been 346 overdose deaths within the metropolis – a rise of greater than 40% from the identical interval in 2022. More than 79% of these deaths have been attributable to fentanyl, in keeping with information from the medical expert’s workplace.

Dorsey, a recovering meth addict, mentioned he desires common entry to naloxone as a result of the treatment saves lives when it reaches an overdosing individual in time.

“This is life and death, and this is a public health crisis that San Francisco has not experienced since the days of the AIDS crisis,” Dorsey mentioned.

Making naloxone extra broadly obtainable is seen as a key technique in controlling the nationwide overdose disaster, which has been linked to greater than 100,000 U.S. deaths yearly.

Narcan, the main model of naloxone nasal spray, is already obtainable with out a prescription in all 50 states, the place leaders have issued standing orders for pharmacists to promote the drug to anybody who asks for it. But not all pharmacies carry it.

Dorsey mentioned a latest “secret shopper” survey carried out by the San Francisco Department of Public Health discovered that roughly 20% of San Francisco pharmacies didn’t have naloxone in inventory, regardless of having authorized authorization to supply it on request.

In San Francisco, cops, firefighters, and paramedics are educated to determine an opioid overdose and carry Narcan. Many public libraries, public housing services and clinics are additionally stocked with the drug.

“We want all San Franciscans, no matter where they live, no matter where they work, to be able to go to their pharmacy and get it and so this measure, removes one more barrier to everyone having access to this lifesaving medication,” mentioned Dr. Jeffrey Hom, director of inhabitants behavioral well being on the San Francisco Department of Public Health.

Dorsey’s ordinance would permit a three-day grace interval for pharmacies to reorder two bins, and high-quality violators between $250 and $1,000 per violation.

In March, the Federal Drug Administration accredited Narcan nasal spray to be offered over-the-counter. The treatment will turn into obtainable that means by late summer time, in keeping with Gaithersburg, Maryland-based Emergent BioSolutions, the maker of Narcan. Other manufacturers of naloxone and injectable types is not going to but be obtainable however could possibly be quickly.

Walgreens mentioned naloxone is already carried in all of its San Francisco pharmacies.

“Walgreens believes that saving lives from deadly opioid overdoses is a shared responsibility amongst all public health stakeholders,” mentioned Perry Han, Regional Vice President of Walgreens.