Delaware County has been at the forefront of the fight against opioids with its police departments pioneering the use of Narcan, the overdose-rescue drug, writes Aubrey Whelan for The Associated Press.

When the state legislators first passed the law that allowed first responders to carry Narcan four years ago, police officers in Delaware County were already trained.

By the end of first month of Delaware County’s program, an officer in Ridley Township became the person in the state to use Narcan to save a person overdosing on opioids. Since then, county officers have saved more than 1,000 people.

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Delaware County was also the first place in Pennsylvania to sue pharmaceutical companies for the costs of fighting the opioid crisis. Officials said it was the opening salvo in the war against Big Pharma, with other counties around the state soon following suit.

“We’ve always done that with respect to addressing the needs of our community,” said District Attorney Kat Copeland. “We created our first treatment court in 1998. We’ve always tried to stay a little bit ahead of the issue.”

Read more about Delco’s fight against opioid abuse from The Associated Press by clicking here.

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