Arizona livestock officers to carry opioid overdose treatment
Ryan Santistevan
The Arizona Department of Agriculture has made its first step in contributing to Gov. Doug Ducey's effort to deter opioid-related deaths in the state.
Mark Killian, the agency's director, said livestock officers are receiving training that will allow them to carry Narcan nose spray, an anti-opioid treatment for overdoses. He said the move could help in remote rural areas where officers regularly visit.
"Officers are in places in Arizona that very few, if any of the law-enforcement officers go," Killian said. "The opioid crisis is not just in urban areas, it's in all over the state. It's a plague."
Nine of the 10 livestock officers, who are placed around the state, have been trained to carry the substance. The 10th officer currently is being trained.
Narcan, or naloxone, is a medication designed to rapidly reverse an opioid overdose. It binds to opioid receptors, then reverses and blocks the effects of the opioids, according to the National Institute on Drug Abuse.
Killian said he could not say when or if a livestock officer had encountered an overdose situation. However, he said, officers have seen what the opioid crisis has done to rural areas in Arizona.
"They can see the effects of the drug culture, including opioids and other drugs in the rural and urban areas, based on the condition of their homes, their livestock and their families. They see it."
According to the Arizona Department of Health Services, 4,747 opioid overdoses have been reported from June 15 through Dec. 14 in the state. The number of possible opioid overdoses reported weekly have ranged from 103 to 270, DHS said.
In June, Ducey declared a statewide emergency to address the number of opioid deaths in Arizona.
The DHS has a blog updating the public of what the office learns. Its latest post was in October and included information about opioid overdoses and who it affects.
According to the blog, men between the ages of 25 and 29 have the highest rate of suspected opioid overdoses. Also, 37 percent of people who overdose had an opioid prescription given to them in the two months prior to their overdose.
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