Due to the trend of heroin abuse and a range of pharmaceutical opiates at near-crisis levels, some public health experts are encouraging expanded health care options for drug abusers -- specifically access to the opiate overdose antidote naloxone. It works within minutes to reverse the effects of an overdose by adhering to brain cell receptors and blocking out opiates, according to NBC News. A shot, which costs between $10 and $50 per dose, almost immediately reverses the high and sends an addict into an abrupt and often painful withdrawal, though it is important that the drug be administered quickly. Despite the effectiveness of the drug, only 17 states have “naloxone access” laws to make it easier for people to access it, according to the Network for Public Health Law.
