Oh hey. We have some narcan to share. I made a graphic about it.
Do you live with someone who uses opioids? Narcan is something to have on hand before you need it. Overdosing on opioids is easy–a person can take a double dose on accident and then be out of their mind and take more, or their pain is so bad they get desperate and go over the limit. It’s also possible to overdose the old fashioned way, if you’re using recreationally. Also, opioids can be in street drugs unexpectedly, so if you’re already using them, you could go over the limit….
With opioid overdose, the breathing gets less and less. Narcan takes the place of the opioids on the opioid receptors, so the breathing problem resolves, and the person can revive and breathe again, and hopefully live. They might fade again in some minutes, so a second narcan dose could be necessary.
There’s nose administered narcan in spray form, which is slower acting but easy to give. And there’s a kind that’s injected, which is faster but not everyone feels like they could administer that.
graphic
Have you ever been in pain so bad that you could do nothing but scream or cry? There’s no room for other thoughts or behaviors like eating, taking a shower, or having any kind of wellness work. What if that level of excruciating pain was your whole life? A person can’t do anything–can’t function with an overwhelming amount of pain. It makes sense that people look for relief, and might not make great choices while in a state like that.
We got a whole box of narcan doses and were thinking who could use some, here in Las Vegas. I’d originally requested some thinking of a close friend who lived in community. Any community needs some.
Chronic pained people like migraine sufferers, disabled people, elders. Any age and appearance of person can use opioids and can overdose. Or if people who use opioids recreationally are around, they can overdose too. Recreational drug users and drug addicted people are people and deserve love like anyone else. If people come visit the community or there are parties, it’s possible for those people to overdose too.
harm reduction
Some people believe in abstinence only, but I live in the actual world, where many people use drugs, and we need to care for them. Harm reduction is about respect, meeting people where they’re at, and being realistic about how people really behave. I love harm reduction the way I love radical mental health and building a world that’s about love.
Ming uses drugs for his narcolepsy. He doesn’t use opioids for anything right now. But maybe one day you or I will be in unfathomable pain and need something more than tylenol in order to function. I hope not, but who knows. Please don’t judge drugs users.
I was on a powerful sedating bipolar cocktail for 11 years, trying my hardest, doing what doctor told me–trying to be a responsible and non-harmful person. The bipolar cocktail was a bad idea for me, and I’m so glad I’m not on it anymore. But poor drug choices I made were within difficult circumstances and low resources. I was doing my best.
Drugs are all around us. I am not more pure or worthy than a drug addict, and neither are you.
graphic
Making this graphic, I felt insecure. I showed it to Ming, and he liked it. Yes, he agreed enthusiastically that we need to talk about having narcan. He liked my work.
“What if we say this, and people are messaging at 2 am looking for narcan, and we can’t get it to them, so the overdosing person dies?” I asked Ming. I felt worried people would not plan ahead, and we would be liable morally.
Ming helped me explain better on the instagram post that people need to contact us beforehand for narcan and training, not message at 2 am. Hopefully readers will listen to that.
I read articles about opioids and narcan online and asked Ming some questions. Felt good to get a little more understanding. I had a family member who was a drug addict and used opioids, and I feel emotions about it, so I took the conversation slow and was gentle with myself.
crisis
“Is there really an opioid crisis?” I asked Ming.
“Yes,” he said. We talked about death numbers and what a crisis is.
“I don’t know how many people die of other things like cancer or car accidents or whatever,” I said. We talked about comparing and what tragic means. What’s preventable.
“I believe in no shame and loving all people, including drug addicted people,” I said. “You really believe that too, right?”
“Absolutely,” Ming said.
It was a good conversation. We believe the same things–it feels good to be two peas in a pod.
expert
“I feel like I should run everything I’m saying by an expert on narcan and harm reduction, to make sure I’m saying things right,” I told Ming. “But you are an expert, huh?”
“Yeah,” Ming said.
He did Dance Safe a long time ago, helped people at raves. He’s been a street medic for a long time, and was / is a registered nurse. Yes, he can train people and knows things.
valid
All bodies are valid bodies. All people deserve love, care, and health care. We all have worth. Disabled people, elders, and addicts all.
Thank you for not ranking the value of people where you are at the top and everyone else gets crumbs.
Trac-B Exchange is some harm reduction here in Las Vegas. Love to the people who do this work.
