Opioid-reversal drug available to cities, towns at a discount

Cities and towns across Massachusetts can order naloxone at a discounted price under the state’s new Municipal Naloxone Bulk Purchase program.
 
Naloxone, known by the brand name Narcan, is a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids, especially in overdose cases. Naloxone cannot be used to get high and is not addictive, according to the attorney general’s office.
 
The Massachusetts Municipal Naloxone Bulk Purchasing Trust Fund allows municipalities to purchase the life-saving drug at a deeply discounted rate.

Cities and towns have been paying, on average, $33-$66 per dose of the drug, which is carried by emergency first-responders, according to the attorney general’s office. The new state fund allows municipalities to purchase the drug at $20 per dose, including an atomizer to administer the drug.

Cities and towns can purchase the discounted drug through the State Office of Pharmacy Services. According to the attorney general’s office, most orders are processed in two or three business days.
 
For more information, visit www.mass.gov/dph.