New Law Allows Use Of 'Miracle Drug' That Reverses Heroin Overdoses

SACRAMENTO (CBS13) — A California law allows anyone to ask a doctor for what some are calling a miracle medicine that can reverse drug overdoses.

Heroin overdoses, like the one that claimed the life of actor Philip Seymour Hoffman, happen every day, killing thousands each year.

A video from the Chicago Recovery Alliance shows the nearly instant reversal of a drug overdose for a man on the brink of death with the help of naloxone.

Barbara Thompson with the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence in Sacramento says doctors and medics have used Naloxone for years.

"It works on any opiate," she said. "It can instantly within two minutes reverse the effects of an overdose."

Now her group plans to spread the word to Sacramento doctors and drug-treatment centers that they can start dispensing the inexpensive, live-saving drug.

"If you are a parent of an 18-year-old who you suspect is using opiates, you can just have it, so if you find him on the couch blue instead of pink, you can administer it," she said.

Many view Naloxone as a lifesaver, giving drug users another chance to try and lead a drug-free life.

"In the few years since it's been tested, over 10,000 lives have been saved," she said.

The new drug costs $20. Under the new law, anyone who administers the drug wouldn't be held liable if something went wrong.