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Opiate antidote available at Tuesday forum Sunday Dec 11, 2016 at 12:01 AM Vickie Aldous Mail Tribune @VickieAldous Local people who are battling opiate overdose deaths will offer free overdose antidote medication, prescriptions and training during a public forum from 7 to 9 p.m. Tuesday at the Medford library, 205 S. Central Ave. The antidote naloxone can quickly reverse the effects of an overdose from opiate drugs, including heroin and prescription painkillers such as OxyContin and Percocet. Anyone who uses opiate drugs, or has a friend or family member using such drugs, is encouraged to attend the meeting. "We are really trying to reach out to people. This really impacts a wide swath of people," said Julia Pinsky, whose son Max died of a heroin overdose four years ago. "We want to take away the stigma. People think, 'I don't need that. That's not part of my world.' But prescription opioids and substance abuse issues are everywhere." Pinsky's son was one of four young men in the area to die of an opioid overdose in the winter of 2012-13. Organizers of the meeting will distribute NARCAN, a brand of naloxone, for free while supplies last. NARCAN is administered as an easy-to-use nasal spray, allowing anyone to save a life. Naloxone is also available in an injectable form that is less expensive, but also more difficult for untrained people to use. At the meeting, attendees can learn about recent changes to Oregon law that allow people to get naloxone at a pharmacy without a prescription. People can read a training document at participating pharmacies, then get naloxone from a pharmacist. The document outlines overdose symptoms, instructs people to call 911 and walks them through the process of administering the antidote and aiding the victim with chest compressions and rescue breathing. Not all pharmacies are participating, either because of the time it takes to assist a person without a prescription, or because they don't yet have the training documents. Of more than a dozen Rogue Valley pharmacies contacted by meeting organizers last week, all were able to dispense naloxone with a prescription, but only a handful are currently able to provide on-site training documents and naloxone for people without prescriptions. Pharmacies offering training and naloxone include Costco pharmacy, 3639 Crater Lake Highway, Medford; Safeway pharmacy, 1003 Medford Center, Medford, and Albertsons pharmacy, 1360 Plaza Blvd., Central Point. Naloxone in syringe form ranges locally from about $25 to $30. The overdose antidote in nasal spray ranges from approximately $110 to $175. Almost all pharmacies said they can bill insurance. Most people with insurance have coverage for NARCAN, and almost three-quarters of prescriptions have a co-pay of $10 or less, according to its maker, ADAPT Pharma. At the meeting, which will be attended by health care professionals, people can receive prescriptions for naloxone, allowing them to get the medication at almost all local pharmacies. They will also receive training on how to use the nasal spray. "We're trying to make it as easy as can be," Pinsky said. She has launched a fundraiser through the online site Go Fund Me to form a nonprofit organization devoted to overdose prevention. The nonprofit can qualify for donations of naloxone from pharmaceutical companies, provide training and distribute the overdose antidote. In communities where naloxone is widely available, overdose deaths have dropped significantly, Pinsky said. For more information, see www.gofundme.com/maxs-mission. For more information about NARCAN and to watch a video about how to recognize overdose symptoms and use the overdose antidote, see www.narcan.com. — Reach staff reporter Vickie Aldous at 541-776-4486 or [email protected]. Follow her at www.twitter.com/VickieAldous.