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A nasal spray used to treat drug overdoses will soon be carried by all police officers in Western Australia.
The rollout follows a successful Australian-first trial which saved 20 lives across the state.
Naloxone is a medication to reverse the symptoms of opioid drugs and is used widely in the United States.
Now WA Police will be armed with the spray following the success of the year-long trial.
WA Police minister Paul Papalia said the spray had been used another 24 times since the test period ended.
Assistant Commissioner Brad Royce said it helps in a variety of overdose situations.
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“It’s not always those subject to drug addiction, it can be overuse of prescribed drugs,” Royce said.
Naloxone also acts as a safeguard for those on the front line should they be exposed to opioids on the job.
“We do go in and search premises, cars and people regularly and the opportunity to come across things such as fentanyl leaves our officers exposed,” Royce said.
According to the most recent statistics, opioids are the leading cause of drug-related deaths in WA.
With more than five hundred officers now trained to use the fast-acting medication, there’s hope that will change and other states are now looking to the state as they consider similar programs.
