King Urges CVS Health To Make Overdose-Reversing Drug Available Without A Prescription in Maine

Statement

Just days after CVS Health announced that it will make the opioid overdose reversal medicine naloxone available without a prescription at all CVS Pharmacy locations in Ohio, U.S. Senator Angus King (I-Maine) has sent a letter to the company urging them to do the same in Maine.

"Naloxone is a critical tool in the fight against opioid deaths, and providing quicker, easier access to it will save more lives. CVS has a strong presence in Maine with 22 locations; as you consider expanding this model program I hope that you will give strong consideration to including Maine," Senator King wrote in his letter. "Allowing Mainers to easily get this life-saving drug from their local CVS Pharmacy would be a huge step forward."

On Monday, CVS Health announced that it would make naloxone, an opioid overdose reversal medicine, available without a prescription at all CVS Pharmacy locations across Ohio beginning in late March 2016.

In Maine, there are currently 22 CVS Pharmacies, including five in Portland where last August there were 14 overdoses in one 24 hour period. At the time, Portland Fire Chief Jerome LaMoria said that his emergency medical personnel had administered 20 percent more doses of naloxone than the previous year up to that point. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, more than 10,000 lives have been saved by naloxone since the first opioid overdose prevention program began distributing it in 1996.

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