Narcan doses seen as another tool in war against drugs

While the horrors of heroin have yet to really rear their ugly head in earnest across Greencastle, City Police want to be prepared nonetheless.

During the August Greencastle City Council meeting Tuesday night, City Police Chief Tom Sutherlin and Fire Chief Bill Newgent reported on training their departments -- along with the Putnam Sheriff's Department and Operation Life -- had received relative to the use of Narcan, a brand name for naloxone, a fast-acting drug used to counteract the effects of heroin.

Nasal dosages of Narcan are available, Chief Sutherlin said, that can be carried by individual officers and easily administered in case of a heroin overdose. And the result can be a life-saving experience.

Heroin is considered to be at epidemic proportions in some areas of the country. Indiana is no exception. Indianapolis has been battling the drug also known as "H," "Smack" or "Horse" in recent years. Few areas are immune.

But Greencastle?

"We're not seeing it right now," Chief Sutherlin said. "Most of what the city sees is meth-related."

That doesn't mean it can't happen here or in any small town.

For example, an incident occurred just this past Saturday in Thorntown, a small community in Boone County. Deputies there found a lifeless woman who would probably be dead today if it weren't for their recent Narcan training.

So it's not just big cities encountering the problem. In fact, the Thorntown incident was the second time in three weeks Boone County deputies administered Narcan to a overdose victim.

Naloxone reverses the potentially fatal respiratory depression brought on by heroin and other opioids, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. It can be administered via the nasal spray or hypodermic needle.

A CDC study released in June reported that from 1996 to June 2014, organizations that provided naloxone kits to 152,283 laymen recorded 26,463 overdose reversals.

The Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department, which has been using Narcan since at least 2013, reportedly has administered more than 650 doses this year alone.

Sutherlin said Johnson and Hancock counties have put a Narcan program in place. Meanwhile, Greencastle is in the process of developing policies and procedures for such an effort, Chief Sutherlin told the City Council.

"This is truly a cutting-edge thing and a good thing being done by our first responders," Councilman Tyler Wade praised.

Sutherlin envisions each city officer carrying one of the nasal applicators on their gun belt instead of using the injection method, which can require training on administering the shot and can easily go awry in the application of it.

Fire Chief Newgent noted that state law protects first responders from liability and stressed that the Narcan does not affect a person unless opiate is present in their system.

Even if a child somehow got ahold of the dosage, the only side-effect would be a runny nose for about 20 minutes, it was noted.

The cost of each nasal dosage is $32, Sutherlin said. However, grant funding is available at basically 100 percent levels, Newgent noted.

Noting there had been conversations in recent months about hypodermic needles being found in the city, Chief Sutherlin said there is also a program available through Putnam County Operation Life and Methodist Hospital in which containers can be provided to safely collect needles or "sharps," as he called them. Police officers would carry such a container in their squad car, he said.

"Not only will we be getting this stuff off the streets but protecting our officers as well," Sutherlin said.

Councilor Phyllis Rokicki asked what the public in general can do if they encounter drug issues within the community.

"If you see something suspicious," Chief Sutherlin said, "pick up the phone and call right then, not four days from now."

In other words, it is as simple as if you see something, say something.