A spate of recent overdose deaths involving a mix of heroin and fentanyl has helped renew interest in distributing anti-overdose drugs to addicts, the Associated Press reported July 30.

Some needle-exchange programs already distribute naloxone to opiate addicts, along with instruction on how to administer the antidote in the event of an overdose. "If people have to rely on paramedics, more often than not, the overdose is going to be fatal, just because of the amount of time for people to get there," said Casey Cook, the executive director of Prevention Point Philadelphia, which distributes naloxone to clients via prescription.

But the White House Office of National Drug Control Policy (ONDCP) is among the critics of distributing naloxone directly to addicts. "We don't want to send the message out that there is a safe way to use heroin," said ONDCP spokesperson Jennifer DeVallance.

Experts say that the heroin/fentanyl mix is so deadly that it has killed some users even before they finished shooting up. In the Philadelphia area, where the mix has killed about 150 people, emergency-services officers have responded to many heroin/fentanyl overdoses but have only saved two people.