Forsyth Deputies Save Heroin Overdose Victim

CUMMING, GA — Forsyth County sheriff's deputies used an anti-opioid drug to save the life of a man who had overdosed on heroin recently.

On Friday, deputies responded to a suspicious activity call in the parking lot of Publix at Hammond's Crossing. They were told by the caller that a suspicious vehicle had left the parking lot, then pulled into the lot at the nearby Valero gas station.

They found the vehicle and, upon talking with its occupants, realized that a 25-year-old man, who was a passenger in the vehicle, had just overdosed on heroin.

Deputies administered two doses of Naloxone, an anti-opioid, which revived the man long enough for EMS and Forsyth Fire crews to arrive and treat him.

The man was conscious and alert as he was transported to Northside Hospital Forsyth, according to the sheriff's office.

Sold under the brand name Narcan, Naloxone is a medication used to block the effects of opioids like heroin. Over the past year, as an opioid epidemic has run rampant through many parts of the country, law enforcement officers have been trained in how to use the drug in the case of overdoses.

Photo courtesy Forsyth County Sheriff's Office