PHOENIX (3TV/CBS 5) — The FDA has approved over-the-counter sales of naloxone, more commonly referred to as Narcan. Pharmacies were already able to sell Narcan without a prescription, but many hope the FDA’s action on Wednesday will further increase accessibility to the opioid treatment drug. “We’ve been fighting to have that for a very long time,” Scottsdale Recovery Center® associate clinical director Ayment Demara said.
When Demara heard the news, she considered what this could mean for clients fighting opioid addiction. “It kind of opens the floodgates to having people of all kinds of incomes, ages,” she said. “Whatever we need as far as getting help, it’s available.”
Narcan has traditionally been used to reverse overdoses of opioids such as heroin or fentanyl. People could already get Narcan without a prescription but had to get it directly from a pharmacist. A representative from Melrose Pharmacy in Phoenix told Arizona’s Family that a four-milligram two-pack of Narcan at their pharmacy costs $150 without insurance.
