LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — On Thursday morning, officials in Arkansas announced that $675,000 worth of Narcan will go to law enforcement across the Natural State.
Governor Sarah Huckabee Sanders, along with Arkansas Drug Director Tom Fisher and Kirk Lane with the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership, announced the move at Camp Robinson in North Little Rock.
“What we’re doing is certainly a positive step in the right direction,” Governor Sanders said. “It’s still a sad thing it has to take place at all.”
Over 15,000 Narcan kits will be distributed.
“The most valuable harm reduction product on the market right now,” Lane said.
To understand how serious the state of opioids is in Arkansas right now, Fisher said to look no further than the statistics in Little Rock.
“27 overdose death investigations that are actively being worked versus 35 homicide investigations,” Fisher said. “At the rate that we’re going, overdose deaths are as likely to overcome homicides and violent crimes in the city of Little Rock by the end of the year.”
State officials aren’t the only ones who have been pushing for more access to Narcan. Justin Buck, executive director of the Wolfe Street Foundation, an addiction recovery service in Little Rock has been too.
“I think access is everything,” Buck explained. “We’re seeing overdose in every corner of our community, so we need to have Narcan in every corner of our community.”
The kits are a small addition to law enforcement, but Buck said they’ll have a big impact on the lives of those who need them.
“All of our community members need to be pulling in the same direction, we all need to put down stigma and put down bias and think about the people in our lives who have been affected by this problem,” Buck added.
