Narcan, commonly known as naloxone, is a medical prescription administered to revive opioids overdose (Kleber et al., 2012). According to studies by the Centers for Disease Control, Narcan has been used to revive more than ten thousand overdoses between 1996 and 2010 (Stranf et al., 2008). However, while the medics are crediting the use of Narcan to revive heroin overdose, there is a concern that heroin users are considering it as a safety net. This is because, the police officers, who are always the first people to respond to drug overdose cases, have established that there is a diminishing line between encouraging drug addiction and saving lives (Seal et al., 2005).

These officers are getting frustrated administering Narcan because there are cases where they have revived the same person more than five times. It is apparent that heroin addicts perceive Narcan as a solution to their addiction problem. For example in Quincy, Boston, the police department reports that they have responded to about 591 cases of heroin overdose, and they have managed to revive 418 people using Narcan since 2010 (Golstein, 2012). However, what was surprising is that, among these cases, there are some individuals who had been revived more than ones. This made the offices conclude that Narcan availability, among other reasons, are the key causes of the increased drug use in Quincy town. Due to such cases, this paper, therefore, seeks to validate the number of times Narcan should be used to revive heroin overdose cases.

The paper will focus on addressing on whether the local authorities should or should not encourage the use of Narcan, and if yes, just how many times should it be used for an individual to avoid its overuse? The paper will also seek to provide an argument whether or not the government should allow the public to easily access Narcan from the drug stores, or make its availability only under special prescriptions by doctors.