Come March, all CVS Pharmacy locations across Ohio beginning would make opioid overdose reversal medicine naloxone available without prescription, an announcement made by CVS Health today.

In addition, CVS Health would focus on spreading awareness among its community about its outreach program, “Pharmacists Teach”. The campaign aims to provide high school students an opportunity to hear from local CVS pharmacists about the perils of prescription drug abuse. About 5,000 students from across the nation have already benefited from the program.

School administrators in Ohio can email at ProfessionalPracticeRetail@cvscaremark.com to get more information about this opportunity and put in a request for participation.

“Naloxone is a safe and effective antidote to opioid overdoses and by expanding access to this medication in our Ohio pharmacies by the use of a physician’s standing order for patients without a prescription, we can help save lives”, said Tom Davis, RPh, Vice-President of Pharmacy Professional Practices at CVS Pharmacy.

Davis said there was need to support the availability of naloxone and applaud Ohio for taking the lead in fighting drug abuse and addiction, particularly among the students.

US President Barack Obama had in October last announced public and private sector initiatives to check prescription drug abuse and heroin use. The CVS Health’s today’s announcement seeks to build on the commitment made by the US President, said Michael Botticelli, White House Director of National Drug Control Policy.

Expanding access to the lifesaving overdose-reversal drug naloxone is a critical part of our national strategy to stop the opioid overdose epidemic, along with effective enforcement, prevention, and treatment, added Botticelli.

Among prominent faces who have been associated with CVS Health on various initiatives to check prescription drug abuse is US Senator Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio). “It shouldn't be easier for Ohioans to get opioids than it is to get life-saving medication necessary to stop overdoses”, Brown.