In the midst of the opioid crisis, last reported by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention as having claimed 702,000 lives from 1999 to 2017, law enforcement and advocacy groups promote the use of Naloxone, also known as Narcan. The drug is designed to stop an opioid overdose, more modernly administered nasally, and is required of all University of Oregon Police Department officers to carry while on patrol.
Sergeant Scott Geeting was a pioneer for the UOPD’s Narcan program. “It was something I was interested in the department having,” he said, in response to the national crisis that police were dealing with.
When it comes to narcotics cases, Geeting mentioned safety concerns for officers in the field. Street drugs are often cut with Fentanyl, a synthetic drug 80 to 100 times stronger than morphine, according to the United States Drug Enforcement Agency. Officers run the risk of coming into contact with Fentanyl, even in the air. “It’s an issue for law enforcement everywhere,” Geeting said. “What you’re handling in the field might not be what you think it is.”
Geeting reached out to Gregg Wendland, the UO pharmacy director. The UOPD orders Narcan through the UO pharmacy, making it financially feasible, Geeting said.
The UO pharmacy keeps Narcan in stock and can fulfill and write prescriptions for the medication for students. Other pharmacies like Walgreens and CVS carry Narcan, as well.
Originally, only supervisors carried Narcan in the field and were the ones tasked with its deployment, but eventually all officers was trained to use it. “The Narcan nasal injector is so safe to use,” Geeting said.
Staff is trained on how to use the nasally-deployed medication every two years, alongside first-aid. Narcan became a part of the first aid kit that officers carry with them, with a “whole suite of tools to go along with it,” Geeting said.
Corporal Adam Lillengreen deployed Narcan on several occasions. His first case was in 2017, when he assisted a woman who was on the ground and unresponsive who he described as having pale skin and blue lips. With medical dispatchers on their way, Lillengreen used Narcan on her. When she woke up, he said, “She basically came back from the dead.”
Not all opioid overdoses present with the same symptoms. Lillegreen said he once arrested a person who did not have the earmark blue lips and pale skin — but when they collapsed, the fire department determined that the individual was in the early stages of an overdose and administered Narcan. “It was a very good learning experience,” Lillengreen said. “Not all opioid overdoses look the same.”
Emergency response is still needed in the event of an opioid overdose, Geeting said. “Going into overdose is still a trauma,” he said. “They’re still going to need care.”
Different agencies in Eugene carry Narcan. Eugene Police Department officers carry the drug, as well as CAHOOTS, the White Bird Clinic’s mobile crisis response team. “More and more police are requiring police officers to carry it,” Lillengreen said. The Oregon Health Authority proposed Reverse Overdose Oregon, which would teach employers how to stop a life-threatening overdose. The HIV Alliance, a local non-profit, offers Narcan deployment training to citizens and students.
Citizens should not be afraid to call for help in the event of an overdose, Lillengreen said. Good Samaritan laws, which were adopted in Eugene in 2017, protect those seeking emergency aid from prosecution and arrest.“We’ve seen an increase in people calling without fear of getting in trouble,” Lillengreen said.
