Heroin Antidote Bill Passes House

INDIANAPOLIS – A drug that can reverse a heroin overdose would become more readily available to the friends and families of addicts under legislation that passed the House unanimously Tuesday.

Senate Bill 406 now moves back to the Senate, which has approved a similar version of the legislation. The Senate will now consider changes made by the House.

The bill lets individuals obtain a prescription for Narcan – also called Naloxone – if someone close to them is addicted to narcotics. The drug comes in a filled syringe that doesn’t have a needle and can be shot up a user’s nose after an overdose.

“It’s nothing short of a miracle when it blocks an overdose,” said Rep. Dan Forrestal, an Indianapolis firefighter who has seen the antidote used by first responders.

The drug has no known effects on someone who has not used heroin.

Under current law, the drug is available to police and emergency medical technicians. But supporters of the bill say that making it more widely available will save lives.

“This is allowing Narcan to be provided on a much larger scale,” said the bill’s sponsor, Rep. Jud McMillin, R-Brookville.

The House added language to the bill that calls for the state to track the use of Narcan and requires physicians to provide families with information about drug treatment programs.

Lesley Weidenbener is executive editor of TheStatehouseFile.com, a news website powered by Franklin College journalism students.