Opioid Safety Program

No. Naloxone reverses the effects of opioids, is an antidote to opioid overdose, and is not an addictive substance.

After administering Narcan, people who have overdosed on opioids including fentanyl will start breathing again. People can experience flushing, dizziness, anxiety, irritability, body aches, and some confusion.

Having a naloxone kit does not increase a person’s opioid or other substance use. If naloxone is administered to someone who has overdosed on anything other than an opioid—including alcohol, benzodiazepines (such as Xanax), stimulants, or psychedelics—Narcan will not have any effect, and would not worsen the person’s nonopioid overdose

Fentanyl works on opioid receptors in the brain to decrease pain throughout the body, but it can also make people feel euphoric, confused, sedated, drowsy, dizzy, constipated, and nauseated, and can decrease your rate of breathing.

Naloxone blocks the opioid receptors in the brain. It removes opioids that activate opioid receptors and reverses the effects of the opioids to restore breathing. Naloxone can stay in someone’s system for about 30-60 minutes until help can arrive.

Fentanyl is an opioid that is sold illicitly on its own but can also be mixed in with illicit substances. When taken by someone without tolerance to opioids, fentanyl that can rapidly cause someone to stop breathing and die. Fentanyl is 50 times more potent than heroin and 100 times more potent that morphine. The DEA has stated that they believe 100% of the counterfeit pills being sold online contain fentanyl.

Naloxone, which also goes by the brand name Narcan, is a lifesaving medication that reverses an opioid overdose. It is a nasal spray or injection that will restore the normal breathing of someone who has overdosed on an opioid and stopped breathing. Naloxone will work within 1-2 minutes after administration and additional doses can be administered every 90 seconds if the person hasn’t started breathing again. Multiple doses of naloxone may be needed for high potency opioids such as fentanyl.

Fentanyl is very cheap to produce and when mixed with other substances (such as MDMA, cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine) and put in counterfeit pills (illicit opioid pain pills such as oxycodone, morphine, norco, Vicodin), it can increase potency and euphoria.

Fentanyl is more potent than other opioids, even in small quantities. A few grains of fentanyl can cause death from an overdose, and because it is colorless and odorless, it is difficult to detect without testing.