CHICAGO (WBBM NEWSRADIO) - The Cook County Sheriff's Office has announced an initiative to give out free naloxone, an opioid antidote, at 15 area gas stations- no questions asked.
Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer spoke at the Amoco station at Roosevelt and Kostner on the West Side, one of the places the antidote is now available.
“This product has proven to be very, very effective to help individuals who have overdosed to help bring them back…This is about helping individuals to save lives,” Deer said.
Cook County had about 2,000 overdose opioid deaths in 2022.
“You can’t provide treatment to anyone who’s not alive, right?” said Dr. Jane Gubser, executive director at the Cook County Department of Corrections. “In order for us to get someone the help they need, we need them breathing. That’s why this product is so important.”
Matthew McFarland with the Lawndale Christian Legal Center is a recovering heroin addict who once overdosed at that same West Side Amoco station.
“I’ve been on both sides of this needle,” McFarland said. “I’ve been somebody who’s been saved from overdoses with naloxone, and I’ve also been the person to administer it.”
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