FDA advisers recommend making Narcan available over the counter


Independent advisers to the Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday unanimously recommended over-the-counter sales of Narcan, a nasal spray that can reverse opioid overdoses.
Narcan, known generically as naloxone, blocks the effects of opiates on the brain and is usually administered by first responders and outreach workers. Many public health experts have argued that it needs to be widely available without a prescription so people who use drugs, their friends, and relatives can have easy access to it. In 2021, there were 107,000 fatal drug overdoses in the United States, including several people who died after illegally buying pills like Xanax and Percocet that were laced with the synthetic opioid fentanyl.
The advisers determined that Narcan requires no training to administer and is "abundantly safe and effective even in infants, with almost no potential for misuse or abuse," The New York Times writes. Because of their unanimous vote, it's likely the FDA will approve an over-the-counter version of the medication in March, meaning it could hit store shelves and vending machines by summer.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
The advisers all being in agreement "underscores the importance of moving this drug to greater access and also highlights the terrible risk of not acting in terms of making the drug more accessible," Maris C. Coyle, chairwoman of the advisory panel and an associate clinical professor at the Ohio State University College of Pharmacy, told the Times.
A free daily email with the biggest news stories of the day – and the best features from TheWeek.com
Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.
-
The Velvet Sundown: viral band that doesn't actually exist
In the Spotlight These AI-generated rock hits are brought to listeners by… no one
-
Snow what? 6 charming ski towns to visit during peak summer
The Week Recommends No powder, no problem
-
Retro tomatoes: a species of the plant is evolving backward
Under the radar Environmental factors may play a role
-
Kennedy's vaccine panel signals skepticism, change
Speed Read RFK Jr.'s new vaccine advisory board intends to make changes to the decades-old US immunization system
-
Kennedy ousts entire CDC vaccine advisory panel
speed read Health Secretary RFK Jr. is a longtime anti-vaccine activist who has criticized the panel of experts
-
RFK Jr. scraps Covid shots for pregnant women, kids
Speed Read The Health Secretary announced a policy change without informing CDC officials
-
New FDA chiefs limit Covid-19 shots to elderly, sick
speed read The FDA set stricter approval standards for booster shots
-
US overdose deaths plunged 27% last year
speed read Drug overdose still 'remains the leading cause of death for Americans aged 18-44,' said the CDC
-
Trump seeks to cut drug prices via executive order
speed read The president's order tells pharmaceutical companies to lower prescription drug prices, but it will likely be thrown out by the courts
-
RFK Jr. visits Texas as 2nd child dies from measles
Speed Read An outbreak of the vaccine-preventable disease continues to grow following a decade of no recorded US measles deaths
-
Shingles vaccine cuts dementia risk, study finds
Speed Read Getting vaccinated appears to significantly reduce the chances of developing Alzheimer's and other forms of dementia