LA County libraries will soon be supplied with overdose-reversing Narcan

LOS ANGELES - The Los Angeles County Board of Supervisors voted to place the overdose-reversing or Narcan at county libraries for use as needed there, use these libraries as public distribution centers for the drug.

"I love that idea," said Sam Chapman. Chapman lost his 16-year-old son Sammy to fentanyl poisoning in February 2021. Chapman said his son played nose guard in football, and wanted to go to NYU. "I think the more Narcan Nasal Spray that gets out there, the more lives that are saved, and since it's non-toxic there's no harm if someone's passed out to administer it," Chapman said, calling the drug "a lifesaver."

Supervisor Janice Hahn was the one behind the proposal. She said firefighters and other emergency workers carry it, "So, I'm thinking, ‘Can’t we bring it to a resource that's closer to the community,' and that would be our county libraries." 

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Under the proposal, librarians would be taught how to administer the drug as well. LA County Library Director Skye Patrick called it, "the right idea at the right time." Patrick plans on holding a meeting of her library staff from the county's 87 libraries to find out how they feel about the plan and what they want to know. "It's a different kind of service. It's still a community service," Patrick said. 

There is no timeline yet for distribution but if things go well Patrick and Hahn want parents to be able to get the overdose-reversing nasal spray into county libraries soon for their home medicine chests.