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Naloxone will be everywhere on the University of Missouri campus this week. The move joins a range of options available to young people in Missouri that includes clinical care and neighborly Narcotics Anonymous chapters. During National Hazing Prevention Week, Sept. 21-25, two sophomores plan to place 5,000 free boxes of the overdose-reversal medication directly into …
Mizzou Students Hand Out 5,000 Free Naloxone Boxes
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Naloxone will be everywhere on the University of Missouri campus this week. The move joins a range of options available to young people in Missouri that includes clinical care and neighborly Narcotics Anonymous chapters.
During National Hazing Prevention Week, Sept. 21-25, two sophomores plan to place 5,000 free boxes of the overdose-reversal medication directly into students’ hands as they walk to class.
The Naloxone Drive in The Show-Me State
Neer Patel and Grady Wright founded the student organization Atlas Health Equity Group to expand access to life-saving health resources. Their naloxone distribution was funded entirely by the Addiction Science Team at the University of Missouri-St. Louis and staffed by volunteers stationed along campus walkways. It parallels other local naloxone vending machines spread throughout the state.
“A lot of students are afraid to use it. So we’re trying to change that stigma,” Patel noted.
“If we just give it to them where they’re walking in class, they could grab it. They’ll keep it in their backpack, they’ll keep it in their car, which is a first step towards prevention.”
Each box contains two doses of naloxone nasal spray to reverse up to two opioid overdoses. It comes at a time when legislators have had to consider making cuts to self-harm programs due to federal funding limits.
Naloxone Access Matters on Campus
The opioid crisis is often framed as distant from college life, but fentanyl has collapsed that distance. The synthetic opioid now appears in counterfeit pills that resemble prescription medications. A single pill taken recreationally at a party can be fatal. Students who never consider themselves at risk actually are.
The project carries personal weight for Wright. During his first semester, he witnessed someone overdose in public and watched bystanders stand by, uncertain what to do, waiting for emergency responders. In middle school, a friend overdosed and naloxone saved that friend’s life. Wright now carries naloxone on his keychain.
Their Pi Kappa Alpha fraternity has backed the effort with space and volunteers. “We just have an entire room at our fraternity house that is just filled with NARCAN,” Wright observed.
Naloxone Works
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist. It displaces opioids from receptors in the brain and restores normal breathing during an opioid overdose, typically within two to three minutes. It works on overdoses involving prescription painkillers, heroin and fentanyl.
Naloxone has no effect on someone who has not taken opioids, so there’s little risk in giving it to an unresponsive person when overdose is suspected.
Most states also have Good Samaritan laws that protect people who call for help during an overdose.
NA Complements Recovery
Naloxone prevents deaths. It doesn’t treat opioid addiction itself.
Folks who are ready to stop using opioids can enroll in medication-assisted treatment. Peer support via Narcotics Anonymous meetings neatly complement medications. Connect with others who understand your background and share experiences.
Meetings are free and available in most college towns throughout the country. To get started, simply browse our directory for locations nationwide. Feel free to also dial 800-934-1582(Sponsored) to chat with an expert and explore local options.
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