As fatal opioid overdoses continue to rise in Arizona, the City of Phoenix is increasing legislative action and community outreach programs to help prevent further fatalities.
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 1,928 Arizonans died last year due to opioid-related overdose, while 2024 has seen 847 fatalities alone.
In hopes of combatting the rising drug crisis, the City of Phoenix’s Office of Public Health established a naloxone kit distribution program. Introduced in August 2023, the program is a harm reduction initiative aiming to lower the rate of fatal opioid overdoses.
Naloxone, also referred to as Narcan, is a critical medicine in treating opioid overdose. It works as an “opioid antagonist,” attaching to receptors and reversing the effects of other opioids, according to the National Institute of Drug Abuse.
“In our first year of the Citywide Naloxone Program, we’ve demonstrated positive outcomes,” said Keyera Williams of the Phoenix Office of Public Health in an interview.
The program has distributed 5,507 kits across Phoenix’s numerous districts from January to June of this year, with 1,070 naloxone kits taken home in May alone.
Naloxone kits are available at all Phoenix public libraries. Each kit consists of two doses of naloxone spray, along with information on how to administer it, a set of rubber gloves, a face shield, and other information on heat and substance use.
Implementation of harm reduction initiatives, such as naloxone distribution, can provide significant”health benefits, including preventing fatal overdoses and the transmission of infectious diseases amongst those who use substances.
“I don’t think we’re going to be able to penalize our way out of this crisis,” said State Senator Christine Marsh in an interview. “We should be striving to keep them alive long enough to achieve sobriety, and harm reduction is really all about that.”
After losing her son to a fentanyl overdose, Sen. Marsh became heavily involved in numerous harm-reduction initiatives, including Senate Bill 1486. The bill passed in 2021 and declassified fentanyl testing strips as drug paraphernalia.
“I think the unfortunate thing is that there’s this false narrative centered around that paints it (harm-reduction) as enabling,” said Marsh. “It’s quite different to enable someone to take a drug versus trying to keep them alive long enough to achieve sobriety.”
As stated by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), only one out of every ten people suffering from a substance use disorder receives treatment.
“People are going to find ways to do what they want to do,” said Jess Patrick, the development manager of Sonoran Prevention Works, a local grassroots organization. “And in the meanwhile, it’s like, how can we support them to be safe and how can we come up with ways for the community to be safe?”
Edited by Shi Bradley, Anyon Fak-McDaniels, Larisa May
