Ohio is dealing with a deadly serious opioid problem right now, but Butler County Sheriff Richard K. Jones says he refuses to equip his officers with Narcan.
Narcan is the drug that reverses overdoses, and has saved countless addicts.
Jones says requiring officers to administer Narcan puts them in danger and the cost of administering the remedy is "sucking the taxpayers dry."
"All we're doing is reviving them, we’re not curing them. One person we know has been revived 20 separate times."
He added:
"We don’t go there and let people die. Here in Ohio, the live squads (paramedics) get in there about the same time and they’re more equipped to use Narcan. The people who use drugs don’t usually like the police and they turn violent once they're revived. Some police departments that use Narcan won’t even allow police to use it unless there’s two officers on the scene. The police feel unsafe using this Narcan because they have to get down on their knees, squirt it into their nose, and the people they are saving are not happy to see them. They’re angry as hell."
Jones doesn't care that he's not going along with the sheriffs in nearby counties. He doesn't care:
"There's no law that say police officers have to carry Narcan. Until there is, we're not going to use it."
One dose of Narcan costs first responders $37.50.
Ohio Governor John Kasich has signed an order limiting opioid prescription painkillers, which experts say lead many drug abusers to heroin.
The order limits prescriptions to no more than 7 days for adults.
Ohio Attorney General Mike DeWine has also filed a lawsuit against the 5 biggest prescription painkiller makers, accusing them of getting Ohioans hooked.