By April Baumgarten
The Bismarck Tribune
GRAND FORKS, N.D. — Grants are helping law enforcement agencies in Grand Forks and Polk counties equip their officers with a medicine that can be used to prevent opioid overdose deaths.
University of North Dakota Police recently were trained to handle Narcan, a nasal spray version of naloxone used to fight the effects of opioid drugs such as fentanyl. The university law enforcement agency equipped its officers with the medication in early January, thanks to grant funding from Grand Forks Public Health, said UND Police Lt. Danny Weigel.
The effort to equip officers across the nation is in response to what some have called an opioid overdose crisis. Drug dealers have found a market in selling fentanyl, which has been used to treat pain in small doses. More than 42,000 people died of opioid overdoses in 2016 in the U.S., according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Full Story: Grants help law enforcement agencies equip officers with Narcan