CHARLOTTE, N.C. (QUEEN CITY NEWS) — ABC stores in Mecklenburg County are now stocked with naloxone – better known under the brand Narcan – to help in an emergency to reverse a drug overdose.
It’s part of an initiative unveiled this week as part of the renovation of the store on Sunset Road.
The county’s ABC Board ran a training on Thursday for the stores’ senior managing staff on how to administer Narcan.
Senior Officer Scott Minderlein is one of the leaders of the training.
“You’ll put this in their nostril right here then you’ll just push on this, and you’ll see the mist if I can get it through the light,” Minderlein showed in his demonstration.
Mecklenburg County Public Health is working to expand access to naloxone. Senior Health Program Manager Tyler Green said last year overdose deaths went down in the county because of partnerships with the ABC Board and Queen City Harm Reduction.
“We really wanted to partner with the ABC Store because they are strategically placed around the county to create access to customers who want to come into their stores and obtain their products,” Green said.
Green said the store locations are spread out in the community to help expand access.
Beth Ockerbloom works directly with people who use drugs in the community through Queen City Harm Reduction.
“We feel that a big part of that is community access to Narcan and Naloxone,” Ockerbloom said. “The bottom line is really that overdose can happen anywhere at any time and people are often poly-substance users.”
In addition to learning how to administer naloxone, employees are also learning lifesaving first aid skills. By the end of training at ABC University, the employees can stop a bleed and check IDs.
“With this naloxone basically being a lifesaving medication, especially if it’s administered properly, there should be more of this put out there through different businesses, not just ABC alone,” Minderlein said.
Through opioid settlement funds, the health department said that Narcan would be available for the next 16 years.
