Narcan nasal spray now available at a discount for uninsured customers

August 1, 2016 6:06 pm

By Alana Cerrone

acerrone@Abc6.com

@Alana_Cerrone

Steve Reid has worked in recovery for years, doing his part to help addicts end their drug addiction and get back on their feet. He doesn’t want to have to use Narcan, but he will.

"The following week someone overdosed…and they saved her life with it."

He and his staff are trained to use Narcan in both the injection and the nasal spray, which is now available at CVS at a discounted price for customers who don’t have insurance.

CVS Health says it wants to make it easy for friends and families of people struggling with addiction to give them a life-saving dose of Narcan and reverse an overdose.

Making Narcan so easily accessible is helping to save lives, but others question if it’s going to make addicts too dependent on this life-saving drug.

"Are we making it too easy…that’s the question. We’re almost feeding on that population…it’s a vicious circle it’s really getting out of control."

Reid says he acknowledges Narcan’s benefits but he thinks there’s a better use for funding.

"Can we add more treatment and resources? It’s like putting a band-aid on a wound that keeps getting bigger."

Narcan nasal spray is available now at CVS locations in Rhode Island and Massachusetts and those who are uninsured can buy it with a $35 discount coupon.