The Opioid Epidemic and the Role of Law Enforcement Officers in Saving Lives

The authors discusses the nature and extent of opioid addiction in the United States and examines the critical role that law enforcement officers can play in reversing the lethal effects of opioid overdose by implementing opioid-reversal programs with naloxone, which is a safe, effective, and easy-to-administer drug. The current opioid epidemic now poses one of the country's most serious medical challenges. The dramatic climb in opioid overdose deaths in the United States paralleled the booming legal market in prescription opioids. More than 100 Americans, on average, die each day from opioid overdose. Since 2000, the number of overdose deaths from opioids has quadrupled to nearly half a million people. Naloxone administration among law enforcement officers has been gaining momentum. Throughout the country, law enforcement agencies have been initiating overdose reversal programs to stem the rising tide of deaths from opioids. As of March 2018, a total of 2,300 law enforcement agencies in 42 states reported that they administered a naloxone rescue program.