EDITORIAL: University System of Georgia is proactive on opioid abuse

With opioid abuse on the rise, especially among college-age individuals, we’re happy to see the University System of Georgia is tackling the issue head-on.

About half of the state’s public universities and colleges now have the drug naloxone in the hands of campus law enforcement officers, who are usually the first to respond to on-campus events such as overdoses. System officials plan to make sure that the emergency drug is available throughout the USG to public safety officers, who are authorized to administer it in cases where opioid abuse is suspected.

“Campus safety is our top priority,” Board of Regents Chairman C. Thomas Hopkins Jr., a medical doctor, said in a statement released by the University System on Tuesday. “Making the drug naloxone available to our safety departments across all of our campuses can make the difference in saving a life. I commend the USG law enforcement chiefs and their officers for taking the action necessary to have this emergency drug available on campus as a first response in protecting our students.”

Naloxone, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, is safe and effective as an antidote to all opioid-related overdoses, including heroin and fentanyl. The CDC says the drug is a critical tool in preventing fatal opioid overdoses.

Unfortunately, chances are the drug will be needed. Young adults, many away from the supervision of parents for the first time, have a tendency to explore and try out new things during their college years. Much of it is a learning process that comes with developing maturity, but sometimes they go in directions that can place them in danger, whether from drinking too much alcohol or experimenting with drugs, such as heroin and fentanyl, a synthetic opioid that is sold illegally for its heroin-like effect. That can lead to a deadly crisis, one for which campus officials need to be prepared.

University System officials, citing the CDC, point out that use of and addiction to heroin, an opioid, has increased across the country. The trend for its abuse is rising among those ages 18 to 25, prime college ages. As one would expect, the increase in heroin use has resulted in a corresponding increase in fatal heroin overdoses. Again citing the CDC, USG officials note that, annually, about 1,000 people in Georgia die from overdoses of illegal opioids like heroin and from abuse of prescription drugs, such as fentanyl.

The CDC says that, depending on state and local laws, naloxone can be administered effectively by emergency medical service personnel and law enforcement officers, as well as people who are at high risk for overdose, and family and friend bystanders who have obtained the medication. The General Assembly took a wise step to help make the proactive move by the USG possible three years ago when Gov. Nathan Deal signed the Georgia 911 Medical Amnesty Law, which extends legal protections to those who administer naloxone. USG law enforcement officers are authorized to maintain and administer opioid antagonists in suspected cases of opioid overdoses.

“Over half of our campuses already have the opioid antagonist, naloxone,” Bruce Holmes, the University System’s chief of police, said. “The remaining campuses are in the process of making naloxone available to their officers for use in the field. This emergency drug is another important tool for first responders and protects our students, campuses and the surrounding communities.”

The availability of a counteractive drug very well might save lives on the state’s campuses.