WA State Drug Program Encourages Teens to Carry Overdose Meds

A new program has been launched by the Washington State Healthcare Authority, and part of the platform encourages teens to carry the anti-overdose drug Naloxone.

Friends for Life program says nothing about avoiding drug use

The program does not appear to offer any advice pertaining to avoiding drug use but instead is full of steps on how to recognize a drug overdose and how to treat it.

  The page also offers links on how people, especially teens, can obtain the overdose medication Naloxone. It also reminds teens that they cannot be penalized for any medical help they attempt to give a person who is overdosing because of the state's Good Samaritan Laws.

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  The website is also full of posters, stickers, buttons, flyers, and other information that can be downloaded. The site advises teens to wear a button that says "I carry Naloxone."

This is following the decriminalization of drugs including narcotics, such as heroin, meth, cocaine, and fentanyl. King County alone has had 463 overdose deaths already in 2023, according to MyNorthwest.com, and is on pace to break last year's record of just over 1,000.