School Officials in Los Angeles to Distribute Overdose Reversal Drugs to all K-12 Schools After Student Dies

Naloxone, a medication used to reverse the symptoms of opioid drug overdoses temporarily, will soon be available in Los Angeles Unified School District schools.

On Thursday, superintendent Alberto M. Carvalho announced that the drug would be available after several local high school students overdosed, including one who died and another who was hospitalized after they were discovered on campus school grounds last week.

According to Carvalho, the latest drug overdoses have “deeply impacted” the district, which blamed “an unacceptable level of availability of narcotics and opioids in our community.”

“We have an urgent crisis on our hands,” the superintendent said. “Research shows that the availability of naloxone along with overdose education is effective at decreasing overdoses and death–and will save lives. We will do everything in our power to ensure that not another student in our community is a victim of the growing opioid epidemic.”