Narcan, or naloxone, will soon be easier for Missouri shoppers to pick up.
A life-saving medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdoses will soon become way easier to get.
The federal Food and Drug Administration has approved naloxone, or Narcan Nasal Spray, for over-the-counter use.
Naloxone has been available at most Missouri pharmacies without prescriptions since 2017. But the FDA's recent approval means consumers will have more options. It allows Naloxone to be sold on shelves at grocery and drug stores, gas stations, as well as online — without having to speak to a pharmacist.
It's not yet clear on when Missouri retailers will implement the FDA's new approval, but here's a few locations where you can already receive naloxone for free.
The FDA's action comes after overdose deaths reached an all-time high in 2021. Though overdose deaths have declined slightly since then, annual drug overdose deaths were still 25 percent higher than they were before the pandemic, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and 50 percent from about five years before that.
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