Joliet, Bolingbrook Police Will Carry Heroin Antidote: Report

Joliet and Bolingbrook police could soon have a potentially life-saving new weapon in the war against Will County’s heroin epidemic.

Officers from both departments will be trained in administering Narcan, a drug that can be administered via nasal spray stop heroin overdoses, the Chicago Tribune reported.

Kathleen Burke, a consultant with the county health department, said a few officers from area departments will be trained and equipped with doses of the drug — and then they’ll pass their knowledge on to their colleagues. She said police are usually first on the scene of an overdose, and the drug can increase the chance of survival.

The $36,000 program still needs final approval from the state, but Burke told the Tribune she expects it to begin by October. Click here to read the full story.

According to the Will County Coroner’s office, there were 45 fatal heroin overdoses in 2012 and 29 in 2013. This year so far, there have been 16 heroin-related deaths.