Durham deputies train on opioid life-saving tool

DURHAM, North Carolina -- The Durham County Sheriff's Office will soon have 75 deputies and eight detention officers carrying naloxone, a life-saving tool in the fight against opioid abuse.

Naloxone is used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency situation.

Officers and deputies trained under the Sheriff's Drug Overdose Prevention Initiative to use the nasal spray NARCAN, the brand name for naloxone hydrochloride.

READ MORE: NC INVESTIGATING OPIOID DRUG MAKERS, DISTRIBUTORS

Deputies will reach out to families and friends of people identified as at-risk to make them aware of the resources available to them.

Opioid addiction is the number one cause of death in North Carolina according to state health leaders.

Last year, 1200 people in North Carolina died, a 20 percent increase.