Naloxone is a drug that blocks the effects of opioids such as heroin. It is either injected into the muscle or administered nasally, and can temporarily reverse the effects of an overdose, allowing time for emergency services to arrive and for treatment to be given.

• 86% of drug related deaths involved one or more opiates or opioids
• 56% of drug related deaths (DRDs) occurred when others were present; with the right support those people might have been able to intervene
• 77% of DRDs occurred among people who had been in drug treatment, in police custody or discharged from hospital within the last six months; these were opportunities to supply and train people to use naloxone
  
  

Scotland’s National Naloxone Programme, the first of its kind in the world, aims to empower people to help themselves and others in the event of an overdose. It engages with people in the community (primarily through specialist drug treatment services) and in prisons.

Turning Point Scotland's full position statement is available here.