Police body camera footage shows power of ‘wonder drug’ to reverse opioid overdoses

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HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Every Hawaii police department now has Narcan for officers to help those with suspected opioid overdoses.

The Kauai and Maui Police Department distributed the drugs to patrol first – in 2018 – and used it repeatedly to rescue people. The Big Island police equipped their officers in February.

And the Honolulu Police Department is just starting to distribute it.

Narcan, also known as Naloxone, can reverse an opioid overdose almost instantly.

The body camera videos recently provided to Hawaii News Now by the Maui Police Department show just how effective this can be. The videos were from an actual overdose appeal in Wailuku.

In one video, a teenage girl can be seen unconscious on the floor of her bedroom.

An officer then runs to get a Narcan nasal spray from a patrol car and hands it to another officer, who runs down the driveway and into the room at the back of the house.

Their sergeant is there with the unconscious teenager.

He gives a dose of Narcan and within seconds she begins to wake up.

“Come on, there you go,” we hear the sergeant say. “How are you?”

MPD agent uses Narcan to rescue overdosed teenager(MPD)

The girl starts to cry and asks, “What happened?

The sergeant asks her what she took and she replies, “I don’t remember.”

The sergeant is clearly amazed at how quickly the Narcan worked and reminds his officers to keep some with them on patrol.

Naloxone is becoming easier to obtain as the use and abuse of opioids increases.

It always requires a prescription from a doctor or pharmacist. And it is covered by most insurance. People can also get naloxone through the Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center. The FDA is even considering making it an over-the-counter drug.

Naloxone comes in two forms, a nasal spray and a liquid that must be injected into a muscle.

This version takes a little longer to prepare and can be difficult if the person distributing it panics.

The spray is much easier, one pump in one nostril equals one dose. This is what the MPD sergeant used to wake the unconscious teenager.

Both forms of naloxone are distributed in the syringe exchange van at the Hawaii Health & Harm Reduction Center in Chinatown.

Paij Nakamura works the van and supplies the Naloxone.

“Anyone who takes an opioid drug for any reason is at risk of overdosing, especially the medically frail or the elderly,” Nakamura said, adding that there have been cases of elderly people who have accidentally done so. an overdose because they forgot that they had taken their pain medication before.

That’s why Nakamura wants everyone who prescribes opioids to have naloxone at home.

Other first responders like paramedics, paramedics, and firefighters have had naloxone for years. The HHHRC said it was relieved to know that most of Hawaii’s police departments have also armed their patrollers.

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