Attorney General Mike DeWine announced an agreement with Amphastar Pharmaceuticals Inc. – a manufacturer of the drug Naloxone – to provide rebates to police departments and other non-governmental agencies that distribute the drug in Ohio. Naloxone reverses the effects of opioids on the brain and can limit or stop an overdose when given to an individual overdosing on heroin or a prescription opioid.
Law enforcement agencies are among the organizations that qualify for the rebates. Amphastar has agreed to provide a $6 rebate for every Amphastar naloxone syringe a non-federal public entity in Ohio purchases between March 2, 2015, and March 1, 2016.
“It is my goal each and every day to protect Ohioans, and this agreement will not only save money, but it will also save lives,” Attorney General DeWine said. “Because we were able to secure these rebates, law enforcement and other agencies can use the money they save to buy more doses of Naloxone. If more doses are available, then more lives can be saved.”
Attorney General DeWine announced the agreement at the “Saving Our Communities: A Drug Education Conference for Pastors” event, which was sponsored by the Attorney General and Ohio Christian University. The conference encouraged churches to be more aggressive in the battle against the opiate epidemic and provided resources for the more than 300 attendees to take back to their communities. Pickaway County Sheriff Robert Radcliff urged church representatives to help law enforcement fight the epidemic. “We can’t legislate our way out of this, and we can’t arrest our way out of this. Our courts are full, and our jails are booked. We need ministers and pastors to work with us,” Sheriff Radcliff said.
Heroin was a factor in as many as 18 overdose deaths a week in Ohio during 2013. Naloxone was administered to counter opioid overdoses an estimated 74,000 times in Ohio between 2003 and 2012, with more than 10,500 of those doses administered in 2012 alone.
The Attorney General’s Heroin Unit includes the Drug Abuse Outreach Team which travels around the state to educate students, parents, educators, law enforcement, elected officials, and community organizations across Ohio about the state’s opiate epidemic. The team engages communities in the fight against drug abuse by helping organize and identify specific actions; the team also provides information about programs and best practices that have been used successfully around the state.
Public entities interested in applying for the Naloxone rebate should go to
www.OhioAttorneyGeneral.gov/NaloxoneRebate