Naloxone works as an antidote for opioid overdoses such as heroin, fentanyl and methadone and the hope is now to avoid more deaths.
Roger Nygren, 66, has used it several times to revive people.
– There are people who have saved me too, several times.
Roger Nygren was born and raised in Stockholm. He tried drugs for the first time when he was 13, and has been addicted to various opioids for much of his life, but is now drug-free.
On several occasions he has met people who have taken an overdose.
– But no one has died at my feet, I can say.
Before there was naloxone – the antidote to opioids that is used as a nasal spray on those who have taken an overdose – he has “blown air” and in other ways revived people.
Revived familiar
But he has also used naloxone to revive him. One such occasion was when he and his then-girlfriend met an acquaintance in a stairwell who had overdosed. His girlfriend had naloxone on her.
– There are two doses, you use one at a time. You must first inject the first dose. That was enough in this case, he perked up. It really helped, says Roger Nygren.
The Swedish Medicines Agency reversed
The Swedish Medicines Agency has been investigating for several years whether naloxone should be sold without a prescription. For several years now, doctors and nurses have been able to prescribe the drug to people who are at risk of overdose.
But just over a year ago, the Medical Products Agency said no to pharmacy sales, citing that certain training efforts are required on how naloxone should be used in connection with dispensing it.
On Thursday, the decision was made that it should be able to be sold in pharmacies, something that could become a reality within a few months. The pharmacy staff must then give instructions to the person who buys it.
Naloxone can temporarily reverse the effect of opioids until medical professionals can take care of the person. It is harmless and has no effect on those who have not taken opioids.