Last March, the FDA approved Narcan, a medication that reverses opioid overdoses, for purchase without a prescription. Availability begins this week.
This policy change is sensible , but it will not put a major dent in the opioid epidemic:
Nearly every state in the US has standing orders that previously allowed pharmacists or other qualified organizations to provide the medication without a personal prescription to people who were at risk of an overdose or were helping someone at risk.
Thus making Narcan OTC helps at the margin but does not represent a radical change.
Narcan’s new OTC status also does nothing to eliminate street drugs laced with fentanyl. The fix for that problem is legalization, so consumers can buy drugs of known potency and quality. This would eliminate most overdoses and the need for Narcan or naloxone in the first place.