The announcement Wednesday from Gov. Greg Abbott’s office is part of the One Pill Kills campaign launched in 2022. The Naloxone Distribution Interactive Map is hosted on the Department of State Health Services (DSHS) website and pinpoints pharmacies, community clinics and vending machines that carry the drug. The map enables people to type in a ZIP code or address to locate it.
Texas already makes naloxone available to county sheriffs’ offices and police departments, according to the news release, and it isn’t the first state to offer citizen-facing maps or visualizations. Minnesota, North Carolina and Massachusetts are among those with naloxone location maps, and Florida State University hosts a map tracking the availability of naloxone and fentanyl test strips in eight states.
On Sept. 1, 2023, a new Texas state law began requiring emergency medical responders to report drug overdose data to local health officials, to map it as well.
“This NARCAN locator map is another tool in our fight against fentanyl-related poisonings that have affected Americans in such a devastating way,” DSHS Commissioner Jennifer Shuford, who is a physician, said in a statement. “Health care providers, first responders, and members of the public can pick up and have this life-saving medication on hand and ready for use for when an opioid overdose emergency occurs.”
Naloxone is a U.S. Food and Drug Administration-approved medication that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose by blocking receptors in the brain and restoring breathing. It is safe to administer even if someone is not experiencing an overdose, and has become a central strategy in overdose prevention efforts nationwide.
