Special to The Leader

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office has granted the Lake Charles Police Department 250 vials of naloxone, a prescription medication that counteracts the effects of opioids to restore breathing during an overdose. The life-saving drugs were made available through a $1 million legal settlement between General Landry and Pfizer.

“The abuse and misuse of opioids throughout Louisiana is a public safety crisis that has unfortunately taken the lives of many of our State’s people”, said General Landry. “I appreciate the pro-active work done by our first responders to fight back against this epidemic, and I am glad we are able to give them the naloxone at no cost to the Lake Charles Police Department.”

Drug overdoses now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause for injury-related death for Americans between the ages of 25 and 64. Louisiana is unfortunately one of the top ten states for these drug overdoses, with approximately 780 Louisiana residents dying from prescription overdoses each year. With the cases ever increasing, this new partnership with General Landry’s office is an appreciated welcome in Lake Charles.

Chief Donald D. Dixon states, “Although the City of Lake Charles has not been inundated with Opioid related issues like other parts of the Country, this allows the Lake Charles Police Department to be prepared for such instances”.

Naloxone has a shelf life of approximately 15 to 24 months; and, at this time, there is no limit on how much product or how often the Lake Charles Police Department may request and obtain the medicine through General Landry’s program.