LONGVIEW, Texas — Pine Tree ISD was given two boxes of Narcan last week.
Narcan is a naloxone nasal spray to be used for the emergency treatment of known or suspected opioid overdose.
They got the Narcan for free by applying through ADAPT Pharma's "NARCAN Nasal Spray High School Program".
ADAPT PHARMA is providing the nasal spray to every school districts' high school that goes through the application process.
When Jan Goldberg, the lead nurse with Pine Tree ISD, learned about this program she started the process.
Goldberg says she was helped by Tyler ISD, who already has Narcan, and the Coalition for Drug Free Youth.
"And then I partnered with Whitney at the drug free youth and we started working on the paperwork and getting everything on board and signed off on and then we got it. It's an emergency drug, it's like our epi-pens, our Benadryl. We have not had the need for it. We hope we do not have the need for it, but we have it if we do," she said.
Whitney Pierce, the Coalition Coordinator says Opioid addiction and overdoses are on the rise.
"In our 2018 Regional Needs Assessment which is put on by the East Texas Council of Alcoholism and Drug Abuse. They've reported that in 2018... seventh through twelfth graders have the highest reported 30-day current school and lifetime use of prescription drugs and opioids in the state," Pierce said, "So we're seeing our region be higher than the state of Texas combined in the misuse of prescription drugs and opioids."
Pierce says with those statistics it's important to have preventative measures in place in the instance that an opioid overdose ever arises.