Oregon Schools Used Naloxone Kits to Reverse Seven Overdoses Since State Program Began in 2023

Since the launch of its overdose reversal campaign late in 2023, Oregon Health Authority (OHA) and the Department of Education (DOE) have delivered free opioid overdose reversal kits to 692 schools, colleges, and universities throughout the state.

The two agencies have distributed 16,608 doses of naloxone to 137 public school districts, 31 private and 47 charter schools, 10 universities, and five community colleges.

As part of October National Substance Use & Misuse Prevention Month, the OHA reveals that all participating schools have received three metal boxes, each containing 24 doses of naloxone and face shields. Similar to morphine, naloxone is a synthetic drug that blocks opiate receptors in the nervous system.

Schools Have Responded to Seven Overdose Incidents

A survey of the participants reveals that the schools used the kits to respond to seven separate overdose incidents involving high school, middle school, and community members.

OHA says naloxone is a proven opioid overdose reversal medication that can restore breathing while waiting for the arrival of emergency medical services.

The number of fatalities involving drug overdoses among Oregon youth and adults dropped between 2023 and 2024. Youth – defined as people between the ages of 10-19 – account for 1% of all overdose deaths in Oregon.

Despite the decline, the OHA says every life lost to overdose is a tragedy, especially to the families and communities left behind. Even one preventable death is too many.

Having naloxone available and equipping people with the skills to use it is one way to save more lives. According to the OHA, half of the youth who died from an overdose had at least one other person present.  However, only 24% of those youth were given naloxone.

Fentanyl-Related Fatal Overdoses Nearly Quadrupled

The number of accidental fentanyl-related deaths by overdose nearly quadrupled between 2020 and 2022, and, in 2023, 1,833 Oregonians lost their lives to unintentional drug overdose.

The school program is an integral part of a larger effort to increase supplies of naloxone statewide, to equip communities to prevent substance use, and to reduce overdoses.