TAMPA, Fla. — Last month, a panel for the Food and Drug Administration recommended making naloxone, more commonly known by brand name Narcan, available over the counter.

The agency is expected to make its final decision by the end of the month. If approved, the public would have much greater access to the overdose-reversing drug. In the meantime, one local organization is already creating pathways to access through community outreach programs.

What You Need To Know

  • Last month, a panel for the Food and Drug Administration recommended making naloxone, also known as Narcan, available over the counter
  • The agency is expected to make its final decision by the end of the month. If approved, the public would have much greater access to the overdose-reversing drug
  • In the meantime, one local organization is already creating pathways to access through community outreach programs

The Recovery Epicenter Foundation, in conjunction with its partners, launched its spring break outreach program this month. Every Tuesday and Thursday, from now through April, team members will be out on both Clearwater Beach and St. Pete Beach to distribute free Narcan to local businesses.

“We have four doses of Narcan. Two doses in each box. As well as information on the Good Samaritan laws,” said Recovery Epicenter Foundation Director William Atkinson, of the bags being handed out.

The hope is no one will have to use the Narcan, but Atkinson points out it’s a key tool against the overdose epidemic that’s gripping the country, killing more than 100,000 people a year.

Atkinson said Narcan is not a cure-all by any means, but it does give people a second chance, as well as the time to potentially seek out treatment for addiction. Atkinson went to rehab himself, after struggling with alcohol and drug addiction in his teenage years. The 38-year-old has been sober now for 17 years.

“If people gave up on me, I would not be here today. I’m incredibly grateful for my friends and my family,” Atkinson said. “People in my life who, even when I was not being very good to them, went out of their way to make sure I was going to be OK.”

It’s one of the reasons Atkinson helped co-found the Recovery Epicenter Foundation — to provide support for those who didn’t have the much needed support system he did.

The foundation and its partners, which include the Pinellas County Opioid Task Force and the Florida Harm Reduction Collective, are distributing Narcan through a grant from the Florida Department of Children and Families. For more information, visit the Recovery Epicenter Foundation website.