Naloxone Access Law

Naloxone Access Law

  • N.C. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 90-12.7
  • A prescriber may, in good faith and with reasonable care, prescribe naloxone, also known as Narcan, directly or by standing order to a person at risk of overdose or a family member, friend, or other person in a position to help a person at risk of overdose. 
  • A prescriber may also prescribe naloxone to law enforcement agencies or organizations that promote Harm Reduction so that those agencies and organizations can then give naloxone to a person at risk of overdose or a family member, friend, or other person in a position to help a person at risk of overdose.
  • The State Health Director may issue a statewide standing order for naloxone.
  • A pharmacist may give naloxone to a person at risk of overdose or a family member, friend, or other person in a position to help a person at risk of overdose, or an agency or organization.
  • Agencies and organizations may give out naloxone so long as they include basic instruction and information on overdose.
  • Anyone who lawfully obtains naloxone may administer it, using reasonable care, to a person experiencing a drug-related overdose.
  • A practitioner who prescribes, a pharmacist who gives out, a person who administers naloxone, the state health director issuing a standing order, or any agency or organization giving out naloxone, is immune from civil or criminal liability.