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New Jersey to give away doses of naloxone Wednesday
FOX 29's Steve Keeley reports from Burlington County, where pharmacies are giving away free doses of naloxone Wednesday.
TRENTON, N.J. - New Jersey will be handing out 20,000 doses of the opioid antidote naloxone Wednesday.
The $1.5 million initiative involves pharmacies across the state, which will hand out doses of the overdose-reversal drug on a first-come, first-served basis.
Each box given away box contains two doses, since overdose victims often need more than one to revive.
The giveaway is part of a pilot program approved by the state's pharmacy board.
State statistics show there were about 3,000 drug-related deaths in 2018, up from about 2,700 in 2017.
Attorney General Gurbir Grewal says naloxone was administered last year by first responders about 16,000 times, preventing thousands of deaths.
For a list of participating pharmacies by county, see here.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.