As F.R. opioid deaths rise, so does antidote use

FALL RIVER – Since the Fall River Police Department began issuing naloxone – an opiate antidote commonly known by the brand name Narcan – to its officers on April 25, more than 103 doses have been administered to overdose victims, according to The Herald News.

As of Sept. 14, according to figures provided by the Fall River Police Department, there had been 644 total drug overdoses in Fall River. The majority of those overdoses – 456 – were from heroin, followed by pills (114 overdoses) and 74 overdoses marked as “other.”

In all of 2015, Fall River experienced 643 drug overdoses.

“To see it at 644 with three and a half months to go still? That’s astronomical,” said police Capt. Joseph Cabral, who tracks drug-related overdose statistics.

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In January, Massachusetts distributed nearly $8 million in federal and local grants to health care entities and municipalities to create programs to prevent addiction and to arm themselves with naloxone. •

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