Ocala officers get opioid overdose medication

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The Ocala Police Department has deployed a powerful new tool in helping save lives in instances of drug overdose.  

The force's K9 and Drug Unit now has Narcan, the first and only FDA-approved nasal spray form of naloxone, used for the emergency treatment of a known or suspected opioid overdoses. 

OPD obtained a large shipment of Narcan from the Florida Department of Children and Families, valued at approximately $7,500.

Since January, the City of Ocala has had 53 overdoses, 13 of which resulted in death.  There have been four  overdose deaths in the past month alone, according to police records. 

Officers can only intervene if notified of an overdose situation.