Minnesota Loss of Naxolone Funding

(June 20, 2019)

Two large naloxone suppliers in Minnesota will not receive enough state funding to continue giving out Narcan kits in their communities, according to The Twin Cities Pioneer Press. Since 2017, Valhalla Place and the Steve Rummler HOPE (SRH) Network have provided free naloxone kits and opioid overdose training to anyone who needs them across Minnesota. The suppliers received the funds to do this from the state’s $10.6 million federal grant, and though the state received $17.7 in funds for its opioid response the next two years, Valhalla Place and the SRH Network aren’t likely to receive similar funding. Stephanie Devich oversees Valhalla’s naloxone distribution, and she says that her group has already been told it will not receive the necessary state money. Lexi Reed Holtum, executive director at the Steve Rummler HOPE Network, says that the network is in negotiations with Minnesota, but that she doesn’t expect to have the necessary funds. When representatives of the state announced they would still provide $1 million, they declined to mention which organizations would receive money.

To find an opioid treatment center or doctor in Minnesota, look here or here.