Journal & Topics Media Group | Serving Chicago's Great Northwest Suburbs

By Tom Robb | on March 16, 2023

State Sen. Laura Fine (D-9th) during debate in the Illinois Senate.

Given the rise in the use of the deadly fentanyl and other opioid-based drugs in Illinois, State Sen. Laura Fine (D-9th) of Glenview proposed legislation to provide Naloxone nasal spray kits to first responders and emergency medical responders doubling the size of doses in those kits. 

Naloxone, often also referred to by its commercial brand name Narcan, is a drug, which can reverse an opioid overdose when administered through a nasal spray.

“In 2021, more than 3,000 people in Illinois died from an opioid overdose,” Fine’s office said. “Although emergency medical providers have access to 4-milligram Naloxone nasal spray kits, that is no longer strong enough to reverse an overdose.”

The proposed two-year pilot program would provide 8-milligram Naloxone kits to first responders, licensed public health departments, and others in Cook, DuPage, Winnebago, Sangamon, and St. Clair counties through the Illinois Dept. of Human Services. 

“Opioid and drug addiction has been devastating to our communities and our state,” said Fine. “Studies have found that multi-dosing of naloxone is needed to save lives.  By increasing the dosage, this will save medical professionals valuable time in saving a life.”

The legislation would also mandate tracking use of Naloxone including the number of spray kits administered by emergency medical providers per overdose incident, along with the number of individuals who survived opioid overdoses after receiving Naloxone nasal spray, Fine’s office said. The data would then be used to inform future programs.

The bill, SB1402, introduced in early February, passed out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee last week and has received two readings in the full Senate. Support local news by subscribing to the Journal & Topics in print or online.

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