The Atlanta Police Department announced Friday plans to carry a drug that can help reverse heroin overdoses.
More than 100 officers in Atlanta’s zone 1 area, which covers a swath of west Atlanta including English Avenue, Vine City and Bankhead, will carry a nasal form of Naloxone, a drug typically referred to as Narcan.
The drug can help reverse an opiate overdose, APD spokeswoman Elizabeth Espy said.
“Police are often the first to arrive at the scene, and in many cases those first few minutes are key to saving a life,” she said in a statement Friday.
Espy said Zone 1 officers are first in the force to carry the drug, but that APD plans to eventually train all officers. This part of Atlanta — home to an high-crime area known as “the Bluff” — is believed to have some of the city’s highest drug use rates.
Narcan can reverse an overdose within a few minutes of use, but has no impact on other drugs such as cocaine, Espy said.
“This program has had great success around the nation,” APD Chief George Turner said in a statement. “If there is a way for our officers to save a life by using Narcan, then that will be incredible.”
According to APD, more than 36,000 Americans die of drug overdoses annually, with half of those caused by opioids.
Fulton County saw heroin deaths increase from 24 to 31 between 2012 and 2013. And Atlanta saw more than 25 deaths caused by heroin overdose last year.
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