Lecciones de la iniciativa pionera de Italia con la naloxona

Aunque muchas veces se considera que la naloxona representa el último avance en el campo de la atención de emergencia en casos de drogas, en Italia se puede adquirir sin receta desde 1996. ¿Qué podemos aprender de la experiencia de este país? Más información, en inglés, está disponible abajo.

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By Susanna Ronconi

In the United States, where an epidemic of overdoses from heroin and other opioids is front-page news, it is becoming more widely accepted that people who use drugs and their communities should have access to naloxone, an overdose antidote, in case of an emergency.

Indeed, by 2014, U.S. harm reduction programs—which focus on offering drug users choices that can help them protect their health—had given more than 152,000 laypeople naloxone kits, resulting in more than 26,000 overdose reversals. However, this simple harm reduction intervention has been slow to gain traction in many other countries. Obstacles include laws that prohibit ordinary people from providing injections, as well as a reluctance to put these tools directly in the hands of drug users—often over fears this will lead to riskier behavior.

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Thumbnail: Flickr CC Governor Tom Wolf