First Aid and the Opioid Epidemic

For as long as I can remember, kids have been warned of the dangers of drugs through programs like D.A.R.E. and innumerable PSAs. People have continued to seek altered states of consciousness anyway. Various drug waves have caused moral panics and law enforcement crackdowns, including cocaine, methamphetamine, and now opioids. One of the topics I skipped discussing in my CPR & First Aid post was the possibility of encountering drug overdose victims.

Fentanyl is an extremely potent synthetic opioid. Apparently between bad dosage, mislabeling, and mixture with other drugs, it is causing a lot of emergencies and deaths. Its potency also seems to result in a lot of misinformation in the guise of keeping the public engaged through fear.

I don't want to be misunderstood. Drugs are bad, mmkay?

That said, vices are not crimes. Prohibition creates black markets to serve demand, which incentivises real criminal behavior and results in unreliable distribution of dubious products. Just as alcohol prohibition promoted concentrated hard liquor, drug prohibition promotes more concentrated and potent drugs. Fentanyl is perhaps the most extreme example because a mere 2 mg dose can be fatal. People who might otherwise choose relatively—emphasis on relatively—safer drugs like morphine or heroin may find supply restricted, and since smugglers can more easily move the drugs with a smaller volume for a given dose, it should be no surprise that stronger and stronger drugs are turning up.

The extreme concentration and small quantities needed for a fatal dose have led to counterproductive fearmongering. Many sources say merely touching a sweat-drenched overdose victim can lead to a fatal fentanyl dose. Skin contact does not appear to lead to significant drug intake, and the recommended solution is basically "wash your hands with soap and water." Airborne inhalation is also seemingly a low risk undermost circumstances. basically, your first aid kit should already contain gloves, and you should wear them whenever you provide first aid, but don't be afraid to help if no gloves are on hand.

If an opioid overdose is suspected, Naloxone—a.k.a. Narcan or Kloxxado—can reverse it. According to the paramedic leading yesterday's class, there is no known side effect or other risk to using this drug. If you serve the public, or even have a family member who has been prescribed opioids, it might not hurt to add this to your first aid supplies.

The web is filled with condescending hate in the comments whenever a news outlet reports first responders rescuing people suffering an overdose. If cops, firefighters, and paramedics can save lives so people have a second chance, that's the least-evil thing they can do with tax revenue. People may make bad choices, but that doesn't mean they deserve to die. Drug addiction usually indicates a deeper problem than mere lazy selfishness, and these people need compassion even if they are "just" victims of self-inflicted harm.

It just ain't Christian to look down on the downtrodden. Lift other people up. Be the Good Samaritan in a world filled with Pharisees. None of us are perfect, and all of us are suffering in some way. Compassion doesn't mean enabling addiction, but neither does it mean treating vices like crime or judging the personal failures of others as worthy of a death sentence.