About 15 UCF police officers on Friday received training on how to administer Naloxone, which can counter the effects of a drug overdose.
Naloxone is an opioid antagonist that when injected can counter drugs such as heroin, displacing them from the body and brain and reversing their potentially deadly effects.
By 2016, all UCFPD officers will have received training on how to recognize an overdose and administer Naloxone. Officers on shift will carry the drug with them.
A grant made a donation of 150 doses to UCF possible.
Heroin hasn’t been a major issue at UCF, said UCFPD Deputy Chief Brett Meade, but the drug’s cheap cost and rising popularity in Central Florida mean that now’s the time to get prepared.
It’s UCFPD’s mission to foster an environment where students can be safe and succeed, and one life being saved makes it all worth it, he said.
Friday’s training– the first of five sessions– was led by Tom Hall, director for UCF’s Alcohol and Other Drug Programming.
Hall serves on Orange County’s Heroin Task Force, which was formed in August to address the local spike in heroin use and overdose. Also representing UCF on the task force are Deputy Chief Meade; Michael Deichen, director for UCF Health Services; and Maribeth Ehasz, Vice President for Student Development and Enrollment Services.