Written by: LaShawn Oglesby

A drug that counteracts overdoses on opioid drugs such as heroine, OxyContin and morphine is now available to the public for free.

The drug is called Naloxone, and it isn’t a new drug; patients in ambulances and emergency rooms get this antidotal drug when it is required.

Though this drug sounds amazing, many have voiced concerns that it doesn’t help drug users get clean and instead makes them take higher doses of drugs because they don’t have to worry about fatal overdoses.

Drug users who think this drug makes them invincible are resting in a false sense of security. In most overdose situations, the victim is unable to administer the drug to him- or herself.

Based on studies by the National Center for Biotechnology Information, an organization that advances science and health by providing access to biomedical and genomic information, this drug isn’t causing people to abuse drugs any more than they were before.

Keeping this drug from the public is a mistake because people are going to overdose no matter what. If Naloxone becomes readily available to people, many lives can be saved.

People would rather administer a drug than bury their loved ones. Instead of waiting for paramedics to come to the rescue, individuals can be proactive in saving the lives of those they care about.

Even if Naloxone does provide a false sense of security to drug users, the alternative to keeping the drug away from the public equals more deaths. Ultimately, saving lives is always the correct move.