Montco To Distribute Kits With Free Opioid Overdose Reversal Drug

NORRISTOWN, PA — Another free event distributing kits of the opioid overdose reversal drug, naloxone, will be held in Montgomery County this week.

Kits containing the drug, which can prevent death if used after an overdose, will be given out Tuesday at the Montgomery County Intermediate Unit in Norristown. The event will run from 4:30 p.m. to 6:30 p.m.

Aug. 31 also marks International Overdose Awareness Day. It comes just days after lawmakers in Pennsylvania allowed the state's opioid emergency declaration to lapse, limiting the funding and resources available to fight the epidemic.

>>PA Opioid Disaster Declaration Expiring Despite Overdose Surge

The declaration is ending despite a sharp spike in overdose deaths in Pennsylvania last year. According to the Centers for Disease Control & Prevention, preliminary statistics indicate fatal overdoses increased statewide from 4,505 to 5,278 - a 16.4 percent increase.

Gov. Tom Wolf has attributed the jump to the coronavirus outbreak.

"Unfortunately, the isolation and disruption caused by the pandemic over the past year and half has also caused a heartbreaking increase in substance use disorder and overdose deaths," he said.

To receive a free kit, residents only need to provide basic demographic information. Kits can also be ordered online here.

The MCIU is located on 2 West Lafayette Street. Residents should enter at the back lot near Barbadoes Street.

With reporting from Patch correspondent Eric Heyl