New website shows where Naloxone access falls short

Narcan has reversed countless overdoses. WRAL News looks at a new tool helping connect more people to the spray.
Posted 10/29/2025, 11:07:48 PM Updated 10/30/2025, 12:00:06 AM

Darkan is a small but powerful tool that's helping North

Carolina fight the opioid epidemic but it only works if

you have it

It's why health leaders nationwide have tried to expand access

WRO health reporter Grace Haba shows us how this new

tool is helping people in North Carolina find the medication

when every second counts

Whether it's in a small vial like this or in

a nasal spray it doesn't take a lot of naloxone

to save a life

I lost two friends within 2 weeks of each other

to opioid overdoses over 7 years ago fueled by her

own personal loss

Delicia Carpenter with the UNC Eshleman School of Pharmacy is

helping others find the medication when they need it most

The researcher recently

To launch naloxonearme.org

The website ranks all 100 counties statewide based on how

many naloxone distribution resources they have

These include things like pharmacies selling the medication over the

counter and health departments and harm reduction organizations giving doses

out for free

One thing is everybody's life is worth saving and so

it's important to carry naloxone especially if you're going to

be

Situations where people are using drugs you never know what

is in the drugs that you're using

The website shows counties like Durham and Wake have some

of the greatest availability with more rural counties closer to

our coasts and mountains with the least

Carpenter says the goal is to help people find the

medication faster and for local governments to recognize the areas

in need of more resources Grace Haba WREL News

You may be wondering how does naloxone work

Grace goes inside the human body so to speak to

show you how one dose can reverse a potentially deadly

overdose

You can watch that story right now on jshu.net