Bureau of Indian Affairs Law Enforcement Will Carry Naloxone to Prevent Overdoses

Law enforcement officers working on tribal lands in Oklahoma will begin to carry the opioid overdose antidote naloxone next year, Reuters reports. The program eventually will go nationwide, according to officials at the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA).

Oklahoma has the nation’s second-highest percentage of Native Americans in its population, the article notes.

“According to the Centers for Disease Control, rates of opioid overdose in Native American communities have increased four-fold from 2009,” Michael Botticelli, Director of National Drug Control Policy, told a news conference in Tulsa.

Dr. Susan Karol, Chief Medical Officer for Indian Health Services (IHS), noted that BIA officers are often the first to respond to drug overdoses. The naloxone will be paid for by IHS and will be dispensed through its 91 federal pharmacies. Tribal pharmacies will be allowed to participate as well, she noted. “We have seen a rise in both heroin use and prescription opioid use in Native American communities,” Karol said.

American Indians and Alaska Natives have disproportionately high rates of substance use disorders, according to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration. In 2010, the National Survey on Drug Use and Health estimated that the percentage of American Indian and Alaska Native adults in need of substance abuse treatment in the past year was higher than the national average.

A government study published this summer found use of naloxone kits resulted in almost 27,000 drug overdose reversals between 1996 and 2014. Providing naloxone kits to laypersons reduces overdose deaths, is safe, and is cost-effective, the researchers noted.