US restaurant and bar workers are using naloxone, more specifically a nasal spray version called Narcan, to reverse customers’ opioid overdoses. Naloxone rapidly reverses the effects of opioids for a short period, hopefully until an ambulance arrives on the scene. As the US opioid epidemic continues to worsen, fuelled by fentanyl, Narcan is being added to fire extinguishers and first aid kits as an essential item in public spaces from bars to libraries. The NYT has spoken to hospitality workers who have used the spray – in one instance, a man in a group playing the card game Magic the Gathering and drinking beers overdosed in a bar. Some are resistant to having Narcan on hand in case it encourages drug use and say managing the risk of overdoses should not be left to low-paid servers. But in opioid-crisis America, having Narcan on hand may become the new normal.
Restaurants and bars are ready for your OD