For Release
MondaySeptember 15, 2025
Sales of the overdose reversal medication naloxone increased after it was made available to the public without a prescription but then dipped quickly in the period following debut of over-the-counter sales, according to a new RAND study.
Over-the-counter sales of naloxone peaked during the first month of availability in September 2023, then declined rapidly before stabilizing until August 2024, when there was a small increase, according to the study published in the journal JAMA Internal Medicine. The drug can prevent death among people who have overdosed on fentanyl or other opioids.
While a sales dropoff might be expected for a medication meant to be kept on hand until an emergency, even the peak levels of over-the-counter naloxone sales were only 7.5 percent as large as the quantity of naloxone sold by prescription.
