Dr. Leana Wen, Baltimore City health commissioner, signed a new standing prescription for naloxone that allows residents to acquire the opioid overdose antidote without first getting trained to use the drug.

The move, which effectively makes naloxone available over-the-counter, reflects changes in state law from the Heroin and Opioid Prevention Effort, or HOPE Act, recently passed by the General Assembly.

Officials said the training wasn't cumbersome but paperwork for it was inhibiting outreach workers' ability to get naloxone in the hands of more residents.

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Every day in our city, two people lose their lives due to overdose. These are not random people—they are our friends, family, and fellow community members. These deaths are particularly tragic because there is a life-saving medication, naloxone, that can reverse an opioid overdose. 

Naloxone gives everyone the power to save a life, which is why I first issued a standing order to Baltimore’s 620,000 residents in October 2015. As a result, more than 800 lives have been saved from overdose by fellow residents. 

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A new study explores the cost-benefits of supervised injection facilities. Researchers estimate that providing one safe drug site in Baltimore will save the City $6 million in medical costs and potentially prevent overdose deaths.

“Safe consumption spaces are physical environments where people bring previously purchased drugs. There's no sharing, there's nothing passed between people,” said Susan Sherman, professor of health behavior and society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health.

Sherman is one of the authors of the report published in the Harm Reduction Journal. The study was conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University, the Law Enforcement Action Partnership, the Criminal Justice Policy Foundation, and the University of British Columbia.

Supervised injection facilities are a controversial concept being discussed in several major U.S. cities. Tackling the opioid epidemic by providing addicts with a safe space to shoot up may seem counterintuitive, but the study uses data to show the opposite.

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Baltimore City officials Tuesday announced they are taking a citywide approach to combat the spread of Zika virus and other mosquito-borne illnesses. 

The Zika virus is spread by mosquito bites or unprotected sex and is linked to serious birth defects.

“Ensuring that our city is safe from mosquitos and the diseases that they carry is dependent upon the collaboration of residents, community organizations, businesses, and city agencies,” Mayor Catherine Pugh said in a statement. “I encourage everyone to do their part to help keep our loved ones healthy.”

 Health officials said there have been 5,274 confirmed cases of Zika in the U.S., including 224 locally-transmitted cases in Florida and Texas, through April. There have been 15 cases reported in Baltimore, all of which included individuals who traveled to an area with active Zika transmission and contracted the virus there.

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