American Medical Association Endorses Naloxone-Based Overdose Prevention as its Official Policy

By Leo Beletsky, Elena Moroz
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A Press Release from the American Medical Association on June 19th, 2012 stated the following on AMA’s new policy on community-based programs offering naloxone to prevent opioid overdoses:


PROMOTING PREVENTION OF FATAL OPIOID OVERDOSE: Opioid addiction and prescription drug abuse places a great burden on patients and society, and the number of fatal poisonings involving opioid analgesics more than tripled between 1999 and 2006. Naloxone is a drug that can be used to reverse the effects of opioid overdose. The AMA today adopted policy to support further implementation of community-based programs that offer naloxone and other opioid overdose prevention services. The policy also encourages education of health care workers and opioid users about the use of naloxone in preventing opioid overdose fatalities.