BEND, OR -- The Deschutes County Jail is implementing new protocol for inmates who overdose on some drugs while in custody. Sheriff Shane Nelson says deputies are now trained to use a drug to try and reverse the effects of opiates, like Heroin. "We’re seeing a lot more heroin, in this area, especially. I’ll briefly tell you that prescription drug abuse is a common doorway to some of this. And then they find out that prescription drug use is an expensive habit. So, the alternative is Heroin, which is cheaper."
Sheriff Nelson tells KBND News, "Naloxone is a different form of a drug you probably commonly know as Narcan. Naloxone has been rolled out in our jail; we have it in strategic locations within our facility. And, it’s for opiate abusers. If someone is overdosing on, let’s say Heroin, then Naloxone can be administered and hopefully will reverse the effects of that overdose." After deputies administer the drug, the inmate is then transported by paramedics to the hospital. Sheriff Nelson says Naloxone has been used successfully at a handful of other jails around the state, as opiate use increases.
