Santa Clara County may provide Narcan to schools
SAN JOSE - The Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors is considering a plan to provide Narcan -- medication used to counteract opiate overdoses -- to any interested school countywide.
Supervisor Cindy Chavez says the availability of Narcan in the event of an overdose could be life-saving.
"9-1-1 isn't always called as quickly as one would like. So, one of the things that we're trying to make sure of is while we're waiting for an ambulance to respond that we don't lose a child in the interim," Chavez said.
There is no price tag attached to the proposal right now in part because it's not known how many school would potentially opt in to the program or the number of dose which would have to be purchased.
Many parents say it's regrettable that there's a need for Narcan in schools at all but believe every possible precaution should be taken to save lives.
"It's sad that young people are addicted to opiates. And that's a sad thing all on its own, right? But I think that's a separate issue that you need to address," says Gabriel Dryer, a former medic in the military and current nursing student.
Supervisor Chavez says the decision to provide Narcan or not would be left to individual school districts. She says it's a decision in which parents should have a lot of input.
"Drugs should not enter the high school. But if we cannot prevent it in a perfect way, we should look for ways to save lives," says parent Oguz Basibuyuk.