Fentanyl crisis: Arizona schools chief launches effort to put Narcan in schools

PHOENIX - Naloxone, which is a nasal spray, helps reverse overdoses. It's easily available, and it may soon be coming to schools, as Arizona Superintendent of Public Instruction Tom Horne said he wants it on every campus.

Horne also said he is creating a task force to answer all logistical matters related to the rollout.

"Every district can afford $50 per school," said Horne. "Now, the task force will decide if you have more than just at the nurse's office. I think every classroom might be too expensive, but those are questions that they'll deal with."

Advocates fighting against overdoses, like Josephine Dunn, call this a win.

"My daughter is very dearly missed. I can tell you that," said Dunn.

Dunn's daughter, Ashley, died in 2021 from fentanyl poisoning. She was 26.

"She was an artist. She was brilliant. She was funny," said Dunn.

Dunn has been fighting against fentanyl since her daughter’s death, and she hands out narcan to anyone she can.

"I will go to my death fighting this disgusting, horrible weapon of mass destruction," said Dunn.

Data from the Arizona Child Fatality Review Program in 2021 and 2022 show 80 children died from overdoses. Seven of those deaths involved middle schoolers, and at least four overdose deaths happened at schools.

"Well, it’s a tragedy, and you know the parents will never recover from losing a child, and we have to put a stop to it," said Horne.

Dunn, who recently had a law signed in her daughter’s name, hopes Narcan won’t stop at just the nurse's office.

"In every classroom, on every bus, in every coach's bag. Narcan needs to be everywhere," said Dunn.

Horne said the task force will start meeting immediately. Meanwhile, there's no word on when narcan will be available at every school.