The lethal drug fentanyl has been found in New Zealand, prompting warnings that the country isn't prepared to face a future fentanyl crisis.
The NZ Drug Foundation is calling on the Government to urgently make it easier for New Zealanders to freely access a life-saving opioid overdose reversal medication before it's too late.
Naloxone is a medicine that rapidly reverses an opioid overdose, but the NZ Drug Foundation said there are barriers to accessing this medicine, putting Kiwis at risk.
Fentanyl is a strong opioid painkiller and useful in a medical sense. But it's lethal and incredibly easy to overdose on; it's up to 50 times stronger than heroin.
On average there are 46 opioid overdose deaths in Aotearoa each year, but the Drug Foundation said the risk is far greater, with the possibility of fentanyl entering the drug supply after it was found in the Wairarapa region last month.
Last year alone, an estimated 80,000 people died from opioid overdoses in the USA, which is in the grips of a fentanyl crisis.
Drug Foundation executive director Sarah Helm said the Government needs to set up a scheme that circumvents the current Medsafe and Pharmac process, which is acting as a barrier to accessing the medicine.
"The Government needs to act now and ensure funding and distribution of naloxone, so it gets into the hands of all first responders and people who use drugs," Helm said.
"We can't let the red tape of our health system be the reason people can’t access this life-saving drug in a crisis."
Following a successful pilot programme, Australia has a national take-home naloxone programme, where from the first of this month the medication is free, with no prescription needed.
The programme is for anyone who may experience or witness an opioid overdose or adverse reaction.
The calls come after the Drug Foundation applied to the Medicines Classifications Committee (MCC) for a rule change that would increase the availability and accessibility of naloxone.
In response, the MCC has recommended changes that allowed needle exchanges and some other health providers to distribute injectable naloxone packs without a prescription.
Helm said that while this small shift is positive it doesn't go nearly as far as the Drug Foundation had hoped.
"It's great that we've removed one tiny bit of red tape from the mountain that's standing in the way of naloxone," she said. "But this is not nearly enough.
"This change won't help us get naloxone into the hands of the large group of people who are vulnerable to a fentanyl outbreak. We need the Government to step in now."
NZ Needle Exchange Programme national operations manager Philippa Jones said while she is pleased that needle exchanges will be able to distribute naloxone, she would like to see more funding for the medicine.
"We have national coverage and stigma-free relationships with clients to ensure this vital life-saving product gets to the people who need it most."
The Ministry of Health told Newshub earlier this month it is working with the National Drug Intelligence Bureau (NDIB) and Te Whatu Ora Health New Zealand to closely monitor the fentanyl incidence in the Wairarapa.
The Ministry said as well as ambulances and hospital emergency departments, naloxone is also available in general practices and urgent care clinics. As an extra precaution, frontline police and heli-units in Masterton are also being supplied with naloxone.
The Ministry also said local prevention initiatives are underway.
