(MassLive- Greta Jochem) — Opioid-overdose deaths hit a statewide peak last year. The crisis is widespread, and that includes affecting youth.
Last year, three people under the age of 15 died of opioid-related overdoses in Massachusetts, while more than 100 people between the ages of 15 and 24 died of an opioid overdose, according to state data.
In response to that, state Sen. John Velis, D-Westfield, wants to increase the number of doses of naloxone — also known by its brand name Narcan — in schools. The medication can reverse an overdose.
“I’m in the camp that Narcan should be available everywhere — absolutely everywhere,” Velis said. “You can’t treat someone who is dead.”
Under his proposed legislation, municipalities could opt into creating a school naloxone program that would require all school nurses to be trained in naloxone distribution and to stock the medication that can reverse an opioid overdose.
The legislation was one of several youth health-related bills included in a recent hearing by the Joint Committee on Mental Health, Substance Use and Recovery. Velis is the Senate chair of that committee.
Many first responders in Hampden County carry the medication, and as of relatively recently, the nasal spray also is available over the counter.
Which schools in Massachusetts stock already it? There’s no central list tracking that, Velis said. Of the hundreds of districts across the state, about 30 ordered the antidote this year from a state Department of Public Health program, Velis said, but because districts could also be getting the medication elsewhere, it’s not clear how many in total have it.
Across the country, about half of the largest 20 school districts stock naloxone, and many of those that do not are working to get it, according an NPR analysis published last month. The National Association of School Nurses endorses the inclusion of Narcan in schools’ emergency planning.
Opioid-related overdoses appear to be a growing issue for youth. Between 2019 and 2021, overdose deaths nationwide for those between the ages of 10 to 19 doubled, according to the American Medical Association.
Velis has been talking with school leaders about the problem. Administrators in one school in his district — he did not want to identify which one — said they didn’t know they could get Narcan from the state.
His office is working with the state Department of Public Health and the Department of Elementary and Secondary Education to identify how many overdoses have happened in schools in the commonwealth.