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Kroger to offer OD drug without prescription

Terry DeMio
tdemio@enquirer.com
Mike DeWine, Ohio Attorney General, examines an atomizer used to administer naloxone, a drug that counteracts the effects of an opioid overdose. At right is Suzi Francis, a pharmacist and clinical care coordinator for Kroger, which announced Friday that it will provide naloxone without a prescription.  The announcement was made at the Oakley Kroger store.

OAKLEY — Kroger is jumping into the fight against opioid and heroin overdose deaths in the region.

The Kroger Co. Cincinnati/Dayton division announced Friday at its Oakley Kroger Marketplace that it will make the opioid overdose reversal medicine naloxone available without a prescription at its 84 pharmacies in Ohio and 16 pharmacies in Northern Kentucky beginning Monday.

"Unfortunately, Ohio and Kentucky rank in the top five when it comes to the highest overdose death rate according to the Centers for Disease Control. Kroger wants to help reverse this horrible statistic,” Jeff Talbot, vice president of merchandising for Kroger, Cincinnati/Dayton division, said. “We want families dealing with addiction to know that they can count on having this drug available in the event that they need it.”

Talbot said shoppers may show up at the Kroger pharmacies once the program starts to ask for naloxone, or they can call ahead. They do not need an appointment. Kroger pharmacy workers will provide training and screening before they get the naloxone kits.

Naloxone is an easily administered non-narcotic that pulls overdose victims into immediate withdrawal, restoring breathing. It is routinely carried by fire-rescue crews and by some police officers so they can revive overdose victims.The medicine is also handed out by community-based treatment advocates throughout the nation, including in Greater Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky.

The drug has no effect on someone who isn't overdosing from heroin or prescription painkillers.

Calling the opioid epidemic "the worst" drug problem he's seen in the United states in his lifetime, Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine said Kroger's move to provide naloxone will save lives. "It is so very, very important that people have this available," he said.

U.S. Sen. Rob Portman said Kroger is saving lives and added, "That's where we need to focus right now."

He touted a Comprehensive Addiction Recovery Act that on Thursday passed the U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee. The bill, authored by Portman and Sen.Sheldon Whitehouse, D-Rhode Island, is designed to encourage states and local communities to pursue a full array of proven strategies to combat addiction.

The Ohio Democratic Party blasted Portman for "bragging" about his support of anti-drug initiatives despite voting against funding for heroin help through a $1.1 trillion spending bill Congress passed in December. Portman defended himself Thursday when asked about the move.

"The broader bill was a monstrosity, a last-minute year-end package," Portman said. "It has a lot of junk in it that's not good."

Detail photo of a naloxone kit, including an atomizer used to administer the drug through the nasal cavities.

The Kentucky Board of Pharmacy approved an emergency regulation in May that gave pharmacists in the commonwealth the option to dispense the drug without a doctor's prescription. The state was among the first in the nation to do so.

Ohio followed suit with a state law in July. University of Cincinnati Assistant Professor of Emergency Medicine Dr. Shawn Ryan worked on the protocol for Kroger to dispense naloxone without a prescription, and commended the company for its decision to do so.

Dr. Jeremy Engel of St. Elizabeth Physicians worked with Kroger and co-signed the protocol allowing the Kroger pharmacists in Northern Kentucky to provide the medication.

The announcement covers 112 pharmacies in Kroger’s Columbus division, a pharmacy in its Central division and three in its Mid-Atlantic division effective Feb. 26. In Ohio, 216 Kroger pharmacies will dispense naloxone without a prescription.

Kroger joins other pharmacies that have committed to providing the medicine for overdose reversal. CVS announced on Feb. 1 it would make naloxone available without a prescription at all of its pharmacies in Ohio beginning next month. Walgreens pharmacies in Cincinnati have been carrying the overdose antidote since May 2015.

In Northern Kentucky, police say, some heroin addicts go to area parking lots including Kroger to shoot up. Among Kroger stores that have experienced the issue are one in Fort Mitchell  and one at Newport Pavilion, just off the highway.

It isn't certain how many have been saved by naloxone or its brand, Narcan, because it's assumed some cases aren't reported. But from 1996 through June 2014, surveyed organizations provided naloxone kits to 152,283 laypersons and received reports of 26,463 overdose reversals, according to the Harm Reduction Coalition, a national organization that works to reduce stigma, harm and death to drug users.