Narcan to be in all public libraries and YMCA

Narcan nasal spray is now going to be available at all U.S. public libraries and YMCAs across the country, a life-saving drug in the hands of more people. It can save someone who is overdosing in seconds. A local in Fort Myers believes this new accessibility is life changing.

Raquel McDuffie knows what it’s like to lose a close friend to an opioid addiction.  

“One time is all it takes now, and they’re gone. They don’t get a second chance,” McDuffie said. “It’s highly affected me and my family.” 

McDuffie is in recovery. She said deaths from opioid overdoses are not only a problem for the nation — but right here where she lives in Fort Myers.  

“You can’t fathom,” McDuffie said. “You know, you know somebody for a couple years and then something happens, and they go out and, you know, you can’t get them back.” 

Narcan is one of the latest moves to fight the opioid epidemic. It’s a drug made to reverse overdoses, and it could soon be available at every library and YMCA across the country.  

“I think it’s a great idea,” Maureen Trelease said.  

The maker of the nasal spray said it will provide two doses to more than 16,000 libraries and 27 YMCAs at no cost. 

Not everyone thinks having the medication on hand in a place like this would help. Some think the idea should go back on the shelf.

“People who are on it, they want to stay on it,” William Kenger said.  

Kenger’s son is an emergency doctor who said he sees drug overdoses every day. He said having the life-saving drug can sometimes enable users.  

“It’s bad now, but in 20 years it will be worse,” Kenger said.  

There is no word on if or how many libraries in Lee County will have Narcan. the executive director of the Sanibel library told WINK News most libraries train workers on CPR and the use of defibrillators, so keeping Narcan on hand seems like the next logical step.

People overcoming addiction in their own lives said it could change the future.

“You want to give them a fighting chance,” McDuffie said. “Because I’ve seen people come back from addiction. I’m one of them.”