Narcan to be sold at Chicago area drugstores
CHICAGO (CBS) -- This week, you can expect boxes of Narcan or Naloxone at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart stores.
It's now available without a prescription and over the counter.
As CBS 2's Sabrina Franza reports, access to the drug is not new, though the move does expand availability.
From inside a truck, clients get what they need from members of the Chicago Recovery Alliance.
"Giving people access in a space where they don't feel judged," said overdose prevention manager Jenny Andel.
One of the most important is Narcan or Naloxone.
"It's not addictive. It does not create a high or anything like that. It's simply a reverses an overdose," Andel said.
She drives around Cook County seven days a week, stopping to distribute kits.
"Do you think that a person is not going to use it because this is not available to them," asked Andel. "Ignoring that and just using a just-say-no approach for everything is ineffective."
Those same kits are now available at CVS, Walgreens, and Walmart for $45 dollars a pack.
No prescription is needed.
The nasal spray will be available not just by truck or at local chicago libraries and some CTA stations but nationwide in area pharmacies.
"Anything that is life-saving should be accessible to everybody," Andel said.
Getting the kit from a truck like this is free, dependent on need. Clients know they can turn to resources provided by the state of Illinois.
"While you're making it more acceptable and accessible in theory, it really isn't," Andel said. "If you're of a lower socioeconomic status, it would be more difficult for you to access that because it really isn't feasible for you to go out and pay $45 for life-saving medication that your friends or family may need when you're trying to make ends meet in other ways."
Chicago reported a slight decrease in opioid-related overdose fatalities last year at 1,407. That is down from their all-time high of 1,456 deaths in 2021.
More reason for this new push for Narcan.
