WOODVILLE – Opioid dependence is a harsh reality facing crisis levels at the national level and has hit rural communities especially hard.
Figures from the state’s Department of Health and Human Services state that Texas is “experiencing a drug poisoning epidemic,” with a more than 75% increase in drug poisoning deaths over a five-year period. In Tyler County, one in 16 people are prescribed opioids, which are easily accessible through most doctors.
ICON, a program managed by UTHealth Houston, recently installed a Narcan vending machine in front of the Vape Nation retailers in Woodville, located at 523 South Magnolia.
The vending machine is open to the public to use, and anyone who needs a unit of Narcan can take one. Narcan is an opioid reversal medication, which is designed to save someone from an opiate-related overdose.
Additionally, Mary Boone, the community liaison with UTHealth for Tyler County, has provided copies of her business card for anyone who is in need of services associated with substance abuse disorder. “They may contact me and I will help connect them to treatment,” Boone said.
According to Meredith O’Neal, MA, who serves a senior program manager at the Houston Emergency Opioid Engagement System at UTHealth Houston, people can develop a dependence on opioids before they even realize it, which causes them to seek illicit substances from black-market sources once they are no longer able to get prescription opioids.
O’Neal said that according to the Centers for Disease Control (CDC), 60% of street drugs in pill form contain fentanyl, which is highly addictive and a synthetic, potent opioid. “Just a small amount of fentanyl can kill someone. Something as small as two grains of sale, that’s all it takes,” O’Neal said.
Narcan, or Naloxone, however, is an opioid agonist, according to O’Neal, which means that when administered, it attaches to the opioid receptors in the brain and blocks the effects of opioids to reverse an overdose.
“It is a powerful medication that can truly save a life,” O’Neal said.
She added that it is important to note it is always essential to call 911 even if Narcan is administered, as it can wear off, and a person can experience effects of an overdose.
ICON, which covers multiple regions, has made its goal for each region to have a Narcan vending machine installed somewhere, and it currently serves the counties of Bastrop; Fayette; Jefferson; Galveston; Liberty; Hays; Comal; Victoria and El Paso, as well as the greater Houston area and Tyler County.
Of the areas it serves, there are currently Narcan vending machines in seven counties, including Tyler, now.
ICON is funded by a grant from the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC), through federal funding from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Administration (SAMHSA) and the CDC. Its mission is to reduce the burden of substance abuse disorder on communities that it serves.
