the great war of our time by michael morell

So the conversation around how to reverse overdoses began, and by 1961, a drug called Naloxone was patented. And so they began to discuss, how do you get the benefits of laudanum, which was very soothing, it took away pain, without it killing you? And how could you save somebody from a drug that was otherwise doing good things for you? Both of them, morphine and laudanum, were among the most popular medications around the turn of the century.īut doctors began to notice that people who could become inordinately fond of laudanum, they could overdose, they could lose respiratory ability, blood pressure would drop. They were both used to address all kinds of aches, pains, nervous conditions and even diarrhea in kids. Laudanum is a mixture of opium and alcohol and it was actually available by prescription, as was morphine. Perhaps you’ve heard the word “laudanum” from your 19th century novels. Let me take you back to the turn of the century. What is Narcan and its adoption? More broadly, tell us about how we view opioids in this country. That’s what’s really astonishing about the history of Narcan. And what’s remarkable about it is that we’ve come so far in our view of a drug that can reverse an opioid overdose and that’s really more about how we view opioids and how we view people who use opioids. OK, so this miracle drug is now going to be available over-the-counter without a prescription, which is a big deal, because opioids are taking something, like, 80,000 lives a year. You basically put the nozzle up the nostril of someone who appears to be overdosing and you push the plunger once, and within a few minutes of injecting the nasal spray, someone can actually wake up from an overdose and their life can be saved. Narcan is a nasal spray that can reverse an opioid overdose.

So first question, what is Narcan, for those who don’t know? jan hoffman

Today, my colleague Jan Hoffman on the new availability of Narcan and how it could change the trajectory of the epidemic.

They approved a life-saving medicine to be on drugstore shelves all over the country starting this summer. In the face of an escalating opioid epidemic, federal authorities recently took a bold step. sabrina taverniseįrom “The New York Times“, I’m Sabrina Tavernise and this is “The Daily.” Please review the episode audio before quoting from this transcript and email with any questions. While it has been reviewed by human transcribers, it may contain errors. This transcript was created using speech recognition software. Transcript What if You Could Save Someone From an Overdose? A nasal spray could change the course of the opioid epidemic.

The great war of our time by michael morell