Hand-Held Treatment for Overdoses is Approved

Summary:

A new hand-held treatment for overdoses has recently been approved by federal health regulators. They say that this will be a powerful tool used against the rising epidemic of prescription drug abuse. The hand-held device will deliver a single dose of naloxone which is a medication that reverses the side effects of an overdose. This medication is the standard treatment given in hospitals to patients who have overdosed but by that point it is usually already too late. This treatment was approved within fifteen weeks due to the increasing number of deaths caused by opioid overdoses. The number of opioid drug overdoses is now greater than that of car crashes and accidents. Once the instrument is turned on it will give you instructions on how to properly administer it.

Analysis:
This new hand held treatment could potentially save a lot of lives not to mention how many families would be saved from the heartache of having to deal with the grief caused by a drug overdose. However, fifteen weeks seems a little soon to approve something. Shouldn't the process be a little more in depth and not to mention more carefully scrutinized. My fear is that this hand held treatment may take away the fear and even consequences of the effects of overdosing on drugs. Could this treatment potentially cause more and more people to actively participate in taking drugs. Taking away a scary consequence such as death seems like it could be a reason for someone to start participating.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/04/04/health/fda-approves-portable-drug-overdose-treatment.html?src=me