FDA Approves Narcan for Fentanyl Crisis, but Activists Say It’s a ‘Band-Aid’

April 14, 2023 TruthUSA

April Babcock is a grieving mother on a mission—to save others from the pain she experienced on Jan. 26, 2019, when her son, Austen, took what he believed was cocaine. Unbeknownst to him, it was laced with a lethal dose of illicit fentanyl. He died shortly after.

To raise awareness, Babcock started The Lost Voices of Fentanyl Facebook group in 2020. Today, it has over 25,000 members, showing that Babcock’s story of loss is far from unique—every year, thousands of people die from fentanyl poisoning.

It’s so prevalent that Facing Fentanyl, a subsidiary of Voices for Awareness Foundation, reports that every nine minutes, someone dies from fentanyl poisoning. However, that’s just the latest statistic.

Andrea Thomas, a counterfeit drug victim family advocate and one of the founders of Voices for Awareness, told The Epoch Times that the actual number is closer to every seven minutes.

In response to the escalating prevalence of fentanyl poisonings, on March 29, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approved Narcan nasal spray for over-the-counter, nonprescription use.

Narcan, which is a 4-milligram naloxone hydrochloride nasal spray, which can rapidly reverse the effects of an opioid overdose.

The FDA said it is “the first naloxone product approved for use without a prescription.”

“Today’s action paves the way for the lifesaving medication to reverse an opioid overdose to be sold directly to consumers in places like drug stores, convenience stores, grocery stores, and gas stations, as well as online,” the FDA press release stated.

In response, Babcock told The Epoch Times, “I totally approve of it being over-the-counter for everywhere.

“Narcan is the only lifesaving tool we have right now to combat this. For me, it’s no different than the Heimlich maneuver. If you see someone choking, you’re going to want to give them the Heimlich. Well, if you see someone overdosing, you’re going to want to give them Narcan. It’s a lifesaving tool.”

Still, she added that the FDA’s approval amounts to little more than a Band-Aid on a much bigger crisis.

“[Narcan] should be in every hotel, every building, and every school. I think it needs to be everywhere. Like I said, it’s a lifesaving tool,” Babcock said. “But at the end of the day, and I say this all the time, we’re not going to Narcan our way out of a fentanyl crisis. Our government needs to do something different, something they have not yet done.”

Thomas agrees with Babcock, “It’s always great to have as many tools as you can in your toolbox, right? Naloxone needs to be easily accessible. … It’s sad that we’ve gotten to this point that that’s even something that we have to look at.”

But like Babcock, Thomas stated, “I think our federal government really needs to step up to the plate. They’re way behind. Not only is it a public health crisis, it’s a national security crisis. You know, the precursors come from China.”

Like Babcock, Thomas is on a mission to raise awareness about the dangers of fentanyl. On June 11, 2018, her daughter, Ashely Romero—who struggled with pancreatitis and chronic pain—took what she believed was a prescription painkiller from her boyfriend. Unbeknownst to Romero, the pill wasn’t prescribed and contained a lethal dose of fentanyl.

She died shortly after.

Overcome with guilt, Romero’s boyfriend committed suicide the day after Romero’s death.

Fentanyl’s Origin

When Thomas and Babcock warn about fentanyl, they’re not talking about the pharmaceutical fentanyl prescribed to treat severe pain—often post-surgery and for advanced-stage cancer. Instead, they’re talking about illicit fentanyl found in counterfeit pills, and whose ingredients originate in China.

Before 2019, “China was the primary source of U.S.-bound illicit fentanyl, fentanyl-related substances, and production equipment,” and these were delivered via international mail, according to a Congressional Research Service report from Dec. 8, 2022.

But, in May 2019, at the United States’ urging, China implemented trafficking controls for fentanyl-related substances. That stemmed direct flows to the United States.

“Today, Mexican transnational criminal organizations (TCOs) are largely responsible for the production of U.S.-consumed illicit fentanyl, using [China]-sourced primary materials, including precursor chemicals that are not internationally controlled (and are correspondingly legal to produce in and export out of China),” the report states.

Chinese traffickers and money launderers have increased cooperation with Mexican cartels in recent years, according to assessments by the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA).

Babcock believes tackling the fentanyl crisis starts with addressing China. “The Biden administration has been doing things recently that are good things. Like more machines at the border at the ports of entry [to search vehicles], that’s good. The Narcan that’s good. I know they just got social media influencers to start spreading awareness, which is great,” Babcock said.

“But all three of them things are just really a Band-Aid. They’re not doing nothing about China, and they’re doing nothing about the Mexican cartels. Why don’t they go after China? Why don’t they shut down their pharmaceutical labs? Why isn’t that happening? How hard is it to label the cartels a foreign terrorist organization? That gives our government tools to actually start shutting the cartels down. That’s what needs to happen!”

Thomas concurs and added, “I’ve done focus groups with people that tell me the first time that they used heroin that was made with fentanyl, they didn’t know that’s what they purchased. It smelled the same, burned the same, all those things, except that the high was so different.

“And then when they realized that it had fentanyl in it, and went to use regular heroin, they couldn’t even get high from regular heroin. … So, the cartels have perfected it. Thomas said.

“A product like naloxone needs to be everywhere because no one is immune, right? Whether it’s a movie theater, the shelter, the school, any place where people gather, there should be naloxone because fentanyl is affecting everyone, every age group, every demographic.

Addressing the Crisis

In addition to addressing the origins of fentanyl, Thomas believes prevention education needs to become a bigger priority for society. She pointed out that just one experience with fentanyl can result in an addiction that’s more insidious than heroin.

“For youth, it’s a totally different world, a totally different drug landscape,” Thomas said. “I mean, you can flood the United States with a supply of any drug, but if we can be successful with prevention, it won’t even matter how much is in front of us. So that’s the most important thing. It’s what we have within our control to some degree, right? To go out and teach prevention while we wait on this legislation, for laws to change.”

Similar to Andrea Thomas, Wendy Thomas (no relation), the founder of Matthew’s Voice, believes the FDA’s over-the-counter approval of Narcan is a positive step. But like Andrea, believes more action is necessary. “I feel like [the government is] focusing on the recovery and treatment. They’re not focusing on the first-time users or recreational users, who may come across it in a pill or cocaine,” Wendy told The Epoch Times. “So, we’re losing all of these people that are not aware of it. And there’s nothing out there warning the public about it.”

Matthew Thomas, Wendy’s son, took what he believed was Percocet, a prescription drug for pain relief, on July 25, 2020. He died moments later, a victim of fentanyl poisoning. Wendy now travels to schools throughout North Carolina, warning students that as many as six out of ten pills contain a lethal dose of fentanyl.

Still, others argue that addressing the fentanyl crisis first involves addressing mental health. Deric and Kathy Kidd believe the FDA’s approval of over-the-counter Narcan is a step in the right direction, but similar to others, think there’s something missing. “I think it’s good for anybody to have it on hand,” Deric told The Epoch Times. “I can show you numerous posts and stories where somebody had to administer [Narcan] that wasn’t a first responder. So, it’s just, unfortunately, the day we live in.”

But he added, “There’s more to it than just the opioid crisis itself. What we do, we focus a lot on mental health issues. There is a lot of judgment out there. There are a lot of things that these kids, and people, are going through and have gone through. Addiction has developed because of that. I think we’re missing the point. We’re missing the reason they’re engaging in this behavior in the first place.”

“We seem to be focusing a lot of time on the end piece. Reacting rather than being proactive,” Kathy added. “I think we need to start much younger. At home, talking about mental health, as well as in schools. I think it needs to start a lot younger.”

The Kidds started The Sebastian Kidd Foundation after their son, Sebastian, took what he believed to be a Percocet. Deric found Sebastian unresponsive in his bed on July 30, 2021. Sebastian was 17 when he died from fentanyl poisoning. The Sebastian Kidd Foundation funds BecomeTheirVoice, a national, family-run non-profit dedicated to educating and addressing mental health issues in youth.

“[The escalating mental health crisis in youth] has been a progression over the last couple of decades,” Deric said. “We’re all to blame. All of us. … We glorify drug use. We glorify certain lifestyles. You know, our kids bury their heads in their phones and their tablets and we don’t have the connection with families anymore. I mean, you name it. Our society has done this to our children. We’ve done this to ourselves.”

Deric says talking about what’s going on and educating the public is vital to treating the opioid crisis and what he believes is an underlying mental health crisis.

Fentanyl and Narcan

For the 12-month period ending in October 2022, the FDA reported more than 101,750 fatal overdoses in the United States, many due to illicit fentanyl.

Narcan nasal spray was first approved as a prescription drug by the FDA in 2015, and since then it’s been used countless times.

FDA Commissioner Dr. Robert M. Califf said in a statement,We encourage the manufacturer to make accessibility to the product a priority by making it available as soon as possible and at an affordable price.”

The FDA has cautioned that while Narcan is a critical tool for when someone overdoses, its use may result in severe opioid withdrawal symptoms if the patient is opioid dependent. Symptoms include increased heart rate, increased blood pressure, diarrhea, nausea or vomiting, and several others.

The FDA added that there are several different forms of naloxone, and other formulations and dosages will remain available by prescription only.