A high school student wrote legislation that could save lives in Illinois. The bill, which has passed both the House and Senate and is awaiting Gov. JB Pritzker’s signature to become law, would require all public libraries in Illinois to carry naloxone, which saves people during opioid overdoses.
Her bill also calls for library staff members to be trained in how to recognize an opioid overdose and how to use the medicine. At least one trained staff member would have to be working at the library during all hours when the library is open. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist, meaning that if someone is having an opioid overdose, the medicine would be able to save their lives. Naloxone is harmless if administered to someone not having an opioid overdose, so it is a low-risk program if the bill becomes law.
According to the Illinois Department of Public Health, in 2022 there were well over 3,200 deaths in Illinois caused by opioid overdoses. The bill aims to reduce the number of opioid overdose deaths by keeping this medicine in a library, a public place. If someone is having an opioid overdose in a library, or its vicinity, or at a library-run event, people could rush to get naloxone and the trained employee at the library and help save the person in danger…