Pubdate: Sat, 08 Jul 2017
Source: New York Post (NY)
Copyright: 2017 N.Y.P. Holdings, Inc.
Contact: http://www.nypost.com/postopinion/letters/letters_editor.htm
Website: http://www.nypost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/296

'I DON'T DO NARCAN': SHERIFF REFUSES TO USE OVERDOSE DRUG

A sheriff in an Ohio county with record numbers of overdose deaths in
recent years is sticking to his long-standing refusal to allow
deputies to carry an overdose-reversal drug.

Butler County Sheriff Richard Jones says he remains opposed for safety
reasons because people can become hostile and violent after being
revived with Narcan. Deputies in neighboring counties in southwest
Ohio do carry it.

"I don't do Narcan," Jones told The Cincinnati Enquirer. "They never
carried it. Nor will they. That's my stance."

County emergency crews administer Narcan, and the Butler County Health
Department has been offering free naloxone kits to relatives and
friends of addicts.

Jones' latest comments came after a city councilman in Butler County's
Middletown drew national attention with his suggestion that emergency
crews should stop responding to people who repeatedly overdose.
Councilman Dan Picard also suggested that people who overdose should
be forced to perform community service to make up for the cost of an
emergency run.

Middletown's city manager responded with a statement that the city
continues to respond to every call.

Ohio is among the states hit hardest by the opioid crisis. Butler
County, near Cincinnati, had a record 192 drug overdose deaths last
year. The county coroner has said it is on pace for other record year
in 2017.

Jones, an early supporter of Donald Trump's Republican presidential
campaign, has gotten national attention before on his tough talk on
illegal immigration. He has written to the Mexican government calling
for reimbursement for housing in the county jails immigrants in the
U.S. illegally.
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MAP posted-by: Matt