Nebraska Pharmacist Association

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Omaha pharmacists on providing over-the-counter Narcan: 'It is expensive'
Experts support over-the-counter naloxone, but Kohll's expects the cost will be a barrier.

Federal health advisers with the Food and Drug Administration say the overdose-reversing drug naloxone should be available over the counter. A panel of FDA experts supports making the overdose-reversing drug more available nationwide. Pharmacies like Kohll's in Millard already provide it for free. "You pretty much just have to be a Nebraska resident and be in a position where you can potentially save someone's life," pharmacist Brandon Piatt said.

Piatt and other pharmacists at Kohll's locations provide free boxes of the nasal spray Narcan to people at risk of overdoses, and others who want to be proactive. The Nebraska Pharmacist Association program only requires an application. Expanding access over the counter might improve access to the medication, but Kohll's says the cost could get in the way.

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'It's a step': Omaha man saved from overdose seven times weighs in on FDA approval of over-the-counter Narcan



Paul Weishapl said he was prescribed painkillers when he was 16. He said the didn't like the way he felt when he took it for the physical pain, but then he began taking it for emotional pain. "By the time I graduated high school, I had a daily oxycontin habit," he said. "I'd been doing heroin since I was 19. First started seeing (illicit) Fentanyl on the scene in 2009."

He's been saved by Naloxone, the Narcan generic, seven times, he said. He said he lost 75 friends to overdose in three years, including very close friends. He said many of them could have been saved if Narcan was easier to access. On Wednesday, the FDA approved over-the-counter sales of Narcan. Weishapl said that's "a step" to improving ease of access and awareness. Weishapl has been in recovery for more than three years and is starting up a nonprofit on the issue. There's a disconnect between currently available resources, he said.