This week, U.S. Sens. Rick Scott, R-Fla., and Jeff Merkley, D-Oreg., paired up on the
“School Access to Naloxone Act.”
This bill “would ensure school personnel have the training to administer lifesaving drugs and devices for emergency treatment in cases of known or suspected opioid overdose.
“Across the United States, the fentanyl crisis continues to rage and take the lives of innocent Americans. I’ve talked to parents all across the Sunshine State who have dealt with the crushing loss of a child to fentanyl, and know too well that Florida has not been spared from this deadly crisis, and neither have our schools. Parents deserve the comfort that if the unimaginable happens, our schools are as prepared as possible to save lives. That is why Senator Merkley and I have introduced the bipartisan School Access to Naloxone Act to make sure that our schools have the resources they need, like training and Naloxone, to respond effectively in the case of an overdose. I hope to see this deadly crisis end soon, but until that happens I won’t stop fighting to protect our kids from these killer drugs,” Scott said.
“Oregon currently faces the fastest growing drug-related death rate among teens in the entire nation—we must show up for our younger generations and present effective solutions to this crisis. Naloxone saves lives, and helping schools stock and administer it is an important part of what needs to be a multi-pronged effort to tackle this crisis,” Merkley said.
U.S. Reps. Dave Joyce, R-Ohio, and Dean Phillips are championing the bill in the U.S. House.
