What you need to know:
- Mat-Su district schools will soon have at least two doses of opioid overdose reversal drugs on hand under a new state law aimed at reducing drug-related deaths.
- Some Mat-Su schools already stock the medication, and school staff administered at least several doses last year, district officials said. The new rule will boost those schools’ supply and provide the medication to others for the first time, they said. State officials will provide schools with a training video on administering the medication.
- Alaska has seen a 47% increase in overdose deaths in the last year, with most cases involving opioids like fentanyl, according to federal data. The state’s per capita rate of fentanyl poisoning is among the highest in the nation.
PALMER — All Mat-Su schools will soon have at least two doses of an opioid overdose reversal drug on hand under a new state law aimed at reducing drug-related deaths.
The legislation requiring schools to have opioid overdose reversal drugs was signed into law Friday by Alaska Gov. Mike Dunleavy during a ceremony at the Matanuska-Susitna Borough School District administration building in Palmer.