Alexandria Officers To Carry Narcan To Address Opioid Crisis

ALEXANDRIA, VA—On-duty Alexandria Police officers will begin carrying naloxone, a drug known under the brand name Narcan that reverses the effects of an opioid overdose.

Officers completed a two-hour training on opioids, how overdoses happen, risk factors for overdoses and how to respond to an overdose with naloxone. The training was led by members of the police department who are certified Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services instructors. Officers will be re-certified every two years.

275 officers have completed the training, and all sworn officers will have completed training by the end of June. The Alexandria Police Department is also part of the Opioid Work Group, a citywide effort to address the opioid crisis.

Drug overdoses have been the leading cause of unnatural death in Virginia since 2013, surpassing homicide, motor vehicle crashes and other causes. Opioids significantly factored into the increase in drug overdoses. However, opioid overdoses decreased for the first time since 2012, according to the latest report from the Virginia Department of Health. The state had 1,213 fatal opioid overdoses in 2018 compared to 1,230 the previous year.

According to the report, the rate of fatal opioid overdoses in 2018 for Alexandria was 3.3 to 7.7 per 100,000 people.

If you or someone you know needs help with addiction in Alexandria, call 703-746-3636 any time of the day. For help with heroin or other opioid addictions, call the Opioid Treatment Program intake line at 703-746-3610. If you live outside Alexandria, find treatment at www.samhsa.gov or by calling 1-800-662-HELP (4357). Always call 911 for life-threatening situations.