A new initiative by Cook County Sheriff Thomas Dart and community advocates will make naloxone, the opioid overdose reversal drug, more accessible, the Sheriff’s Office said.
The office—in partnership with Cook County Commissioner Dennis Deer and Matthew McFarland from the Lawndale Christian Legal Center—will provide Zimhi, an injectable device with a high dose of naloxone, at gas stations in Chicago neighborhoods that have had high numbers of reported overdoses.
Approximately 15 gas stations on the West Side will initially be taking part in this initiative, with goals to expand to other locations soon. The Sheriff’s Office did not identify the locations.
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Zimhi will be available for free at these locations, no questions asked. Information on how to reach clinicians from the Sheriff’s Treatment Response Team will also be provided so those who want to seek treatment for substance use can get connected to services. Sheriff Dart formed the Treatment Response Team in 2019 to bridge the gap in services for individuals who have overdosed as well as support services for their loved ones.
“This initiative expands my office’s efforts to get naloxone into the hands who need it by providing it at easily accessible places,” Sheriff Dart said. “For years, Cook County Jail has provided life-saving naloxone to people leaving the jail and the Treatment Response Team helps individuals in the community access naloxone and also get into drug treatment programs.”
The naloxone devices for this initiative come at no cost to taxpayers. Lawndale Christian Legal Center provided the the Sheriff’s Office with the Zimhi kits from pharmaceutical company US WorldMeds, Louisville, Kentucky. Each kit contains two epi-pen style injections each with 5mg naloxone.
“I’ve administered naloxone and have received naloxone,” McFarland said. “Having a high dose of naloxone that is easy to use in places where people already go to purchase other necessities will save lives.”
Convenience store and gas station parking lots and bathrooms have been among the common locations of opioid overdoses, according to media reports.
In March 2023, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan, a medication that rapidly reverses the effects of opioid overdose, for over-the-counter use—the first naloxone product approved for use without a prescription. The action allows the medication to be sold directly to consumers in places such as convenience stores, gas stations, grocery stores and drug stores, as well as online.
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