AG grant boosts Baldwin efforts in opioid fight

Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office has granted the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department 20 vials of Naloxone, a prescription medication that counteracts the effects of opioids to restore breathing during an overdose. The life-saving drugs were made available through a $1 million legal settlement between General Landry and Pfizer.
“The abuse and misuse of opioid throughout Louisiana is a public safety crisis that has unfortunately taken the lives of many of our state’s people,” Landry said. “I appreciate the pro-active work done by our first responders to fig back against this epidemic, and lam glad we are able to give them Naloxone at no cost to the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department.”
Drug overdoses now surpass automobile accidents as the leading cause for injury-related death for Americans between1 ages 25 and 64. Louisiana is one of the top ten states for these drug overdoses, with approximately 780 Louisiana residents dying from prescription overdoses each year.
“It’s these kinds of partnerships that enhance the abilities for us to better serve the communities and areas we serve,” Fire Chief Lance Mire said. “I congratulate and applaud General Landry for the continued fight for the state’s first responders”
Naloxone has a shelf life of approximately 16 to 24 months; and, at this time, there is no limit on how much product or how often the Baldwin Volunteer Fire Department may request and obtain the medicine through Landry’s program.