'Narcan can give you a second chance' Local deputies, doctors praise move to make Narcan more readily available.

On Wednesday, the Food and Drug Administration approved Narcan to be sold over-the-counter.

Pharmacies across the US already carry naloxone, but a prescription is required for it. The overdose reversing drug. Many know the most common form through it’s brand name Narcan.

Wake County Sheriff's deputies know how vital the overdose reversing drug is for their line of work.

“You can have somebody that at one minute appears to be very close to death and then the next minute they are very much alive,” said deputy Beckley Vaughan.

Vaughan has used Narcan on at least 12 people in the last few years. Of those 12 people, Narcan didn't work only once.

“Narcan can give you a second chance," Vaughn said. "It gives you the opportunity to make changes in your lifestyle, but you have to be willing to do that as well.”

While the move should make the drug more readily available, there could still be a barrier for those who need it most.

“The cost of naloxone, the nasal spray, is still too high," said Dr. Nabarun Dasgupta of UNC. "[Its] $40 to $90. If the price of the nasal spray of the antidote is more than the price of a dime bag of fentanyl, then we are on the wrong side of the equation.”

Dasgupta is hopeful the wider availability will bring the price down, but said beyond that, the priority should be addiction treatment, especially for people who have had naloxone used on them.

“It’s a miracle drug but the real miracle happens in all the care that people give someone after they’ve overdosed," Dasgupta said. "Really meeting them where they’re at and helping them through whatever difficulties they have in their life right now.”