At a time when a record number of Americans have died from drug overdoses — with the vast majority involving opioids — the recent approval of two new forms of naloxone, a drug that reverses opioid overdoses, would seem to be welcomed.
Instead, the medicines are opening a fierce debate over whether they could make matters worse.
Critics say the new drugs — which are made up of higher doses of naloxone — are not only unnecessary, but dangerous, arguing that they could cause survivors of overdoses to go into abrupt withdrawal, creating extreme discomfort. Some even go as far to describe them as “punitive” doses that inflict suffering on people who use drugs, and accuse drugmakers of looking to turn a profit without first considering what patients and paramedics need in a crisis.
