Health Minister Tom Osborne is open to expanding the availability of free naloxone kits for distribution to the public, and is continuing a dialogue with the Pharmacy Association.
Osborne was responding to calls for free distribution of the life-saving kits through pharmacies across the province.
Naloxone kits are mailed out to residents and are available for free through various health offices and a variety of community-based organizations.
A local MUN professor and physician told VOCM News this week that Newfoundland and Labrador is one of the few provinces in the country that does not provide free kits through pharmacies, something Dr. Françoise Guigné calls “mind boggling.”
Minister Osborne says more than 100 sites are distributing kits throughout the province and they’re open to hearing from more groups and organizations.
He says they’re continuing to look for ways to expand the delivery and distribution of naloxone kits.
He says government is grateful to community partners who are distributing the kits at no cost to the public or to government.