GREEN BAY, WI (WTAQ) – With the stroke of a pen, Governor Scott Walker signs a bill in Green Bay Tuesday that could make it easier to save lives.
Assembly Bill 427 allows Wisconsinites to walk into a pharmacy and buy narcan.
Narcan, or nalaxone, is a drug that immediately counteracts the effect of opiates, heroin or pain medication in the event of an overdose.
It’s used by paramedics, police and other first responders.
Narcan, if administered properly and soon enough, can reverse the sometimes fatal results of a drug OD.
State Representative John Nygren is the main sponsor of the bill.
He says the first step for people to turn their lives around is to be alive.
He says as laws crack down on prescription drug availability and abuse, more people will be turning to drugs like heroin.
Nygren’s bill clarifies that pharmacies can hand out Narcan under a doctor’s standing order.
He does not see the expanded availability of narcan as an invitation for drug users to keep abusing.
The hope is those saved lives by narcan will be turned around for the better.
The bill passed the State Assembly and State Senate with bipartisan support.
