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Idaho Governor Signs Naloxone Bill

Doug Nadvornick/SPR

Idaho Governor Brad Little has signed into law a bill that allows any licensed health professional to give the drug naloxone to a person suffering an opioid overdose.

Naloxone, also known as Narcan, reverses the effects of an overdose.

Moscow Democratic Senator David Nelson introduced the bill in the Senate.

“A lot of people think you need to have a doctor’s prescription or a pharmacist’s prescription to get it, which is the current law," Nelson said. "This allows any other health care provider, like a nurse or an EMT, to just give you Naloxone, to give it to you to take home, I don’t mean to administer it.”

The bill was introduced in the House by Rep. Jake Ellis (D-Boise), a retired firefighter. Ellis said he has seen the lives of more than 50 people saved by timely administration of the drug.