Pubdate: Sat, 15 Jun 2013 Source: Patriot Ledger, The (Quincy, MA) Copyright: 2013 GateHouse Media, Inc. Contact: http://www.patriotledger.com/ Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/1619 Author: Christian Schiavone ANTI-OVERDOSE DRUG IS SAVING LIVES IN QUINCY, WEYMOUTH QUINCY - One was an 18-year-old dumped in a snowbank near Quincy Medical Center in the midst of a heroin overdose. Another was brought to the Quincy police station near death by a family member. They are just two of the more than 180 people who have been saved thanks to a program to train and equip all Quincy police and Weymouth firefighters with the overdose-reversing drug Narcan, according to the two departments. "These numbers are phenomenal," said Detective Lt. Patrick Glynn, who heads the Quincy police drug unit. "That officer represents an option of life." Glynn spoke during a conference held Friday to highlight efforts by the city and neighboring communities, including Weymouth, to combat drug abuse. The conference was hosted by Impact Quincy, a program of the nonprofit Bay State Community Services. In 2010, Quincy became the first municipal police department in the country to train all of its officers to use Narcan, which is a brand name for the drug naloxone. Since then, officers have used it 163 times to successfully revive overdose victims. The city's program was praised in the the White House's 2013 National Drug Policy Strategy report released in April. Following Quincy's example, Weymouth firefighters began carrying Narcan in March. So far, they have successfully used it 20 times, Firefighter Brad Flannery said. "We've already had 20 instances where we brought people back from the brink of death," he said. "We're solving a small piece of a very large problem in our town." Quincy police and Weymouth firefighters use a nasal-spray form of the drug. The youngest person to be administered the drug was 15 in Quincy and 18 in Weymouth. The oldest was 67 in both communities. The Weymouth Fire Department has also applied for a $6,800 grant to implement a system to connect families of drug addicts with support services. The system would include a hotline, a website and pamphlets, Flannery said. The department will find out whether it will receive the grant next week. There were 53 overdose deaths in Norfolk County in 2012, up from 52 the year before, according to the district attorney's office. There have been 24 so far this year. - --- MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom