AG: State To Make Naloxone Available At Cheaper Prices

(Associated Press) - Massachusetts cities and towns can begin purchasing the overdose reversal drug naloxone at a discounted rate.

Attorney General Maura Healey made the announcement Wednesday, at the start of the holiday season.

Healey said the holidays are traditionally a time when overdose rates have spiked.

The state's Naloxone Bulk Purchasing Trust Fund allows first responders to buy naloxone _ also known as Narcan _ at a deeply discounted rate of $20 per dose.

They can also have the drug, along with an atomization delivery device, sent to them.

Healey said that until now municipalities have been paying from $33 to $67 per dose of the drug, not including the cost of the atomizer.

Naloxone has become a critical life-saving tool as the state's opioid overdose numbers have spiked in recent years.