Pubdate: Sun, 07 Aug 2016
Source: New York Times (NY)
Copyright: 2016 The New York Times Company
Contact: http://www.nytimes.com/ref/membercenter/help/lettertoeditor.html
Website: http://www.nytimes.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/298
Author: William Vaughan Jr.
Referenced: http://www.mapinc.org/drugnews/v16/n517/a07.html

TREATING HEROIN ADDICTS

Naloxone saves lives after a heroin overdose, but does it also 
encourage addiction?

To the Editor: Your article discusses two interpretations of the 
effect of Narcan, the brand name of naloxone. The moral hazard 
interpretation is that Narcan gives drug users a safety net, allowing 
some to overdose numerous times in safety. Advocates of Narcan, on 
the other hand, say it allows people to get into treatment, and there 
is no evidence that Narcan increases opiate use. Given this 
uncertainty, I find it difficult to understand how you can write: 
"There is no question that the nation's death toll from heroin and 
prescription opioids would be significantly higher without naloxone." 
It is at least logically possible that Narcan will eventually be seen 
to have been a wholesale mistake.

WILLIAM VAUGHAN Jr.

Chebeague Island, Me.
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