As anyone who has follows news in America will know, the US opioid epidemic is getting truly out of hand. Thanks to the various confusing matters that help to fuel the drug industry, it’s hard to see a short-term solution to what has now become quite a long-term problem. With state help often stretched to the limit, though, many times it’s up to the communities themselves to do something about this and to take action: which is what we are seeing in some parts of the USA.

A lot of people are turning to really unconventional treatments. One such treatment which has become very popular is a nasal spray treatment known as Narcan. It’s a nasal inhalant that is also a form of naloxone, a drug that is used to help overcome an opioid overdose.

It’s become a common choice of drug to try and help heroin addicts to try and overcome their super-strength addictions. Sadly, if you spend any time around communities with drug problems, you’ll begin to hear the world Narcan pop-up in conversation time and time again: while it’s a lot better than people taking heroin, it’s still an expensive habit that becomes increasingly necessary.

What’s really interesting – and in many ways heroic – is that many addicts will be first to react with a Narcan spray. It’s commonplace for addicts to be in need of immediate assistance: often, first-responders are unable to get there on time. Thinking fast, empathetic addicts will often let their friend use their Narcan spray to overcome their overdose.

Why is this happening?

It’s hard to say exactly – for one, these communities are often much tighter than people give them credit for. And while the medical teams do all they can to help addicts within the realism of what their resources allow, it’s easy to feel left behind. For that reason, it’s easy to see why heroin addicts might wish to have their own solution on-hand.

It’s also become commonplace due to the explosion on popularity and usage of fentanyl. It’s incredible power means that many addicts simply want to have something that could be used in a pinch to help themselves – or a friend – out of an overdose. It’s now actually becoming more or less essential for these addicts to have the nasal spray on them: without it, who knows what might happen?

Narcan has become a go-to choice, and it’s good that it exists: while it might be more expensive than it perhaps should, the solution has become a go-to life saver for many people. In the near future, it might become as common on the streets as the very drugs that it works so hard to overcome: and that can only be a good thing for drug users.