SANFORD — Saving a life can be as easy as administering nasal spray.

Dr. Merideth Norris, medical director at Grace Street Services, which specializes in medication assisted treatment to prevent substance use disorder, demonstrated Saturday at St. George’s Episcopal Church how to administer Naloxone. Known by brand name Narcan, the drug that blocks the effects of opioids and can save someone in a life-threatening overdose who is cold, unresponsive, breathing poorly or not breathing at all.

The demonstration was part of a community program put on by the treatment center along with the church, Strategies for a Stronger Sanford and the Sanford Police Department.

In a nasal spray form, Narcan can be purchased for as little as  $4 for those with insurance. “Cheaper that having a fire extinguisher,” said Norris. She noted that the drug doesn’t have any negative consequences if administered to someone who isn’t on opioids.

“It will save lives. I am living proof,” said Tim Cheney, a partner with Grace Street. “I am a person in long-term recovery from heroin addiction and I’ve been recovering for over 35 years. Narcan saved my life 36 years ago.”

Everyone who has a family member addicted to opioids should carry the medication, he said.

Norris likened the use of Narcan to other life saving interventions, such as using an automated external defibrillator for someone having a heart attack.

Narcan can also be used to save a child who may have gotten into medication they shouldn’t have or an elderly person who accidently took an additional dose of a medication.

Those who oppose the use of Narcan say its “just a crutch” or a way of rescuing people who don’t want to be rescued, she said.

Norris said a few years ago, when there was an increase of overdosing on pain medications, the solution was to make the drugs more difficult to get, however, those who were addicted didn’t simply stop taking drugs, they moved to taking heroin or something else.

When someone purchases heroin, she said, they may not be getting what they thought they paid for, as it could be laced with something else or be another drug entirely.

 “The FDA does not regulate the stuff that people (buy off the street and) inject,” she said.

With substance use disorder, the frontal vortex, or the “hey, don’t do that” part of the brain, “kind of steps aside,” said Norris. Family and loved ones of someone who is addicted may “try to logic” them into making good choices, but she said the person with the substance use disorder needs to get their “brain squared away” and then a month or so down the line can begin to take part in those conversations.

For more information on Grace Street Services, call 324-4054.

— Staff Writer Liz Gotthelf can be contacted at 282-1535, ext. 325 or egotthelf@journaltribune.com.