Making Opioid Antidote Widely Available a Key Step in Treatment
Dallas attorney Jeffrey Simon says U.S. Surgeon General Jerome Adams’ call for more Americans to carry the opioid antidote naloxone is one that could save countless lives, and play a key role in addiction recovery.
“Naloxone should be widely available and at the ready for emergency medical personnel, people who are opioid addicts, or people who live with opioid addicts. I equate having naloxone at the ready to having a CPR kit at the ready — both can save lives as emergency care if administered in time,” says Simon of Simon Greenstone Panatier Bartlett, P.C.
“Unfortunately, it’s easy for anyone to overdose on opioids, so we are not just talking about saving the lives of addicts. But when we speak of opioid addicts, we need to remember that addiction is a disease. We want addicts to get into recovery, and if they die from an overdose, that can’t happen. Keeping them alive long enough for them to make headway with addiction treatment is crucial, and naloxone is often a key component to achieving that goal,” he says.
Simon Greenstone and co-counsel collectively represent more than 40 counties in Texas as well as other states in opioid litigation.
