BELFAST — Belfast Police have added a powerful tool to their arsenal in the fight against heroin and other opioids. The department has joined many other law enforcement agencies in Maine by adding Narcan to the supplies each officer carries, according to Chief Michael McFadden.

Narcan is the brand name given to naloxone, a medication used to block the effects of opioids. The drug is especially useful if someone has overdosed. Naloxone can be delivered intravenously, or injected into muscle, and takes effect within two or five minutes, respectively.

It can also be sprayed into the nose, and is sometimes added to opioids in pill form in an effort to reduce the potential abuse of medications.

The medication was supplied to Belfast Police by the Maine Attorney General’s Office free of charge.

Officers attended a required training Nov. 9, conducted by Mary-Beth Leone-Thomas and Melissa Carr, of Seaport Community Health Center.

McFadden said Seaport was pivotal in the department’s decision to begin carrying Narcan.

“I’d like to thank Dr. David Loxtercamp and Dr. Tim Hughes, who took the time to talk to me about the program, and convinced me to move forward with it,” he said in a prepared statement.

According to a 2014 report  from the Maine Department of Health and Human Services, almost seven out of 10 overdose deaths can be attributed to opioids, or heroin specifically. A Maine Emergency Medical Services report found that overdoses have increased by 35 percent between 2011-2014.

Since 2012 the number of deaths involving benzodiazepines or heroin/morphines more than doubled.

McFadden also addressed the growing number of individuals and families impacted by opioid addiction.

“Communities across Maine are dealing with the deadly effects of substance abuse more and more frequently,” he said. “There seems to be an endless list of problems caused by these issues, but a shortage of answers on how to deal with them. Substance abuse is no longer an issue unfamiliar to us locally; many of us know of someone who suffers from addiction. These people aren’t strangers anymore. They’re our neighbors, our friends, and sometimes even members of our own families, and they matter. Perhaps Narcan isn’t a cure or an answer, but perhaps Narcan will give someone another chance to find recovery in whatever way works for them.”

McFadden said anyone with questions about local recovery options can contact him directly at chief@belfastmepd.org, or contact Seaport Community Health Center at 338-6900.

Erica Thoms can be reached at news@penbaypilot.com