Edhat Staff
(courtesy photo)
By edhat staff
UC Santa Barbara is holding a series of free trainings to teach community members how to administer Naloxone to prevent overdoses.
The Student Health/Alcohol & Drug Program will launch a Naloxone Distribution Program this month and the current workshops are led by Angie Bryan, a recovery specialist with the UC Santa Barbara (UCSB).
Naloxone, also called Narcan, is a medication designed to rapidly reverse opioid overdose. It is an opioid antagonist, meaning that it binds to opioid receptors and can reverse and block the effects of other opioids. Santa Barbara Sheriff’s Deputies have used Naloxone spray for several suspected overdoses in Isla Vista and the surrounding communities.
About 1 year ago, Bryan began the process of developing an Opioid Overdose Prevention and Response protocol for UCSB to address frequent overdoses. Her goal was for the Alcohol & Drug Program to be able to distribute Naloxone kits to students for free and without a prescription.
Bryan worked with the Director of Behavioral Health and received a grant through the CA Dept of Public Health Naloxone Distribution Project where a large supply of Naloxone was granted for free. “Our responsibility as a distributor is to train each person to whom we provide a kit,” said Bryan.
“The overall goal of the Naloxone Project is to empower students to keep our community safe. To provide education about how to prevent opioid overdose, how to recognize and respond to an overdose, and how to use Naloxone to reverse the overdose. Students are typically the first on the scene when another student overdoses, and every minute matters in an overdose situation,” said Bryan.
The faster someone can be given Naloxone, the better chance they have of surviving. UCPD, IV Foot Patrol, Sheriff’s Deputies, and paramedics all carry Naloxone. The kits contain two nasal sprays that can be administered in different nostrils.
The trainings began on Tuesday evening where 45 Naloxone kits were distributed. More kits are available on an ongoing basis at the Alcohol and Drug Program in Embarcadero Hall. The next training is on Thursday, April 4 at 3 PM in the Isla Vista Community Room at 970 Embarcadero Del Mar next to the Isla Vista Neighborhood Clinic. For more information visit https://UCSBGFR.COM
Right. Doesn’t prevent overdoses. It interrupts overdoses.
that kind of presentation is given to students freshman year. But by the same token, why the heck are adults doing these drugs then if their brains are actually fully developed? young adults aren’t the only ones doing drugs or overdosing.
Yeah bro. And don’t worry if it gets too heavy, I’ll be right here with this Narcan should you OD. Alright, ready? Prepare to be Comfortably Numb….. Wow. Gnarly dude.
So, the epidemic is so bad at UCSB that now students have to carry narcan and worry about possibly having to revive a fellow overdosing student? Instead, why not ban opiods all together on campus? There is simply no reason for people this young to have to use opiods for anything – except for perhaps very few exceptions, so the ban could be subject to individual exceptions with doctor clearance, substantiated medical issue requiring opiod use, etc.
And yes, the opiod problem IS that bad on campus (and off).
Is there a spray to keep students from falling off of balconies and cliffs? *Countdown to deletion lol…..
What a tragic shame that big pHARMa has bought & paid for our politicians and FDA who allow 11 year olds to “legally” be prescribed addictive opioids.
So instead of stopping the sociopathic habit of prescribing dangerously addictive painkillers to kids now it’s a good idea to teach kids how to chemically stop their overdose instead of stopping the avalanche of opiods.
75% of Americans are on prescription drugs. Make America Groggy Again.
Absolutely par for SB..
Instead of fixing, replacing or improving anything..
lets spray more perfume on our dirty bodies, apply more lipstick to the pig, & shove our faces deeper into the sand.
PITMIX, you do it responsibly and with the awareness that too much of certain things can lead to life-altering addictions. Get high now and then, but not on hard stuff and not too much!