Louisiana Administrative Code
Title 55 - PUBLIC SAFETY
Part XXV - First Responder Best Practices for Administration of Opioid Antagonists
Chapter 1 - Administration of Opioid Antagonists
Section XXV-101 - Purpose and applicability

A. Opioid-related overdose is one of the leading causes of accidental deaths in Louisiana. Fatal and nonfatal overdose can result from the abuse of opiates such as morphine, heroin, fentanyl, oxycodone as found in OxyContin, Percocet, Percodan, and hydrocodone as found in Vicodin. Opioid antagonists, such as naloxone, displace the opioid from receptors in the brain and can therefore reverse an opiate overdose. It has no euphoric properties and minimal side effects. If it is administered to a person who is not suffering an opioid-related overdose, it rarely produces any clinical effects. Naloxone has been available as an injectable since the 1960s, but was recently developed as a nasal spray. R.S. 40:978.1 and R.S. 14:403.11 provide for first responders to receive and administer opioid antagonists, provide for immunity from liability, and require the promulgation of a set of best practices by the Deputy Secretary of Public Safety Services of the Department of Public Safety and Corrections for use by a fire department or law enforcement agency in the administration and enforcement of those statutes. In accordance with those statutes, these guidelines establish a set of best practices for fire departments or law enforcement agencies relating to training to safely administer opioid antagonists, standards and procedures for storage of opioid antagonists, and emergency follow-up procedures.