There is another big development in the war on heroin overdoses that is taking such a huge toll on Delaware County and the region.
Gov. Tom Wolf this week will announce that he is giving the green light to a push to get Narcan kits, featuring the drug that can reverse the effects of a heroin overdose, in every state police cruiser.
It's something Delco D.A. Jack Whelan, who has been at the forefront of the push to get the drug into the hands of police who are often the first on the scene of a possible overdose.
Delaware County was the first in the state to equip local officers with the generic version of the drug Naloxone. It was part of the legacy of 'David's Law,' named after an Upper Chichester resident who died of a heroin overdose.
The law did two key things: It allowed those in the company of someone possibly suffering an overdose to alert authorities without fear of prosecution, and it allowed police to administer Narcan, which is administered through the nose and can literally bring back and overdose victim from death's door.
Whelan and a Delco police officer will be at a press conference with Wolf in Lancaster to formally announce the state police program.
Wolf talks about his plans in an op-ed piece that is in the Daily Times and on DelcoTimes.com today.
This life-saving push has Delaware County written all over it. Not only was Whelan among the first to address the huge uptick in heroin and opioid abuse in the county by setting up a special Heroin Task Force, state Rep. Joe Hackett, R-161, pushed the amendment allowing police to administer Narcan.
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