MIDLAND, Texas — The Midland County Emergency Management Department has distributed naloxone, otherwise known as Narcan, to local law enforcement agencies.
The Texas Division of Emergency Management was responsible for providing logistical support for naloxone distribution to Texas communities.
All of this is in response to the legal claims filed by the State of Texas against opioid manufacturers in connection with the opioid crisis.
“We got all of these for free cause through that settlement. So other times the department or the city or the county has to purchase them themselves or go out for grants and so this is just going to give, you know, all of us an allotment to use for quite a while.” said Justin Bunch, emergency management coordinator for Midland County.
The sprays are not only for law enforcement officers to use on their own people in case of an emergency, but also to anyone in the public they come across while on a call who might need it as well.
"And just like I said, it's always with us. So even if we're driving around and here a call come out or we're backing up another officer on a stop and somebody goes down because they got fentanyl overdose or something, we have that Narcan available for us." Bunch said.
Having more than enough sprays is better than not having enough; more lives can be potentially saved.