Narcan Saves T-shirt (unisex)

Wear this shirt to hear “nice shirt” from your friends and strangers who know what’s up. Wear it to hear “What the fuck is Narcan?” from everyone else. Great opportunity to spread the word about why people who use drugs or love someone who does should carry Narcan.

Printed on black cotton Gildan shirts by a cool punk screen printing spot in California.

What is Narcan...? 

"Narcan" is a brand name for the intranasal form of naloxone. Naloxone is an opioid antagonist and is used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. It's often called an opioid overdose "reversal" drug, but it does not fully stop an overdose. It helps to temporarily relieve symptoms caused by a depressed central nervous system -- mainly "enabling" essential bodily functions like breathing. The patent and branding of nasal naloxone causes a lack of availability and keeps costs high, at about $40 a dose. Harm reduction organizations can distribute it for free in several states, but other states it requires a prescription or is even more inaccessible. Online harm reduction organization NEXT distro makes it, and other harm reduction supplies, available to people who do not have local access to these materials. The other, unbranded, form of naloxone comes as an intramuscular (IM) injectable, and kits typically come with an new sterilized syringe in an unopened package and a little vial of naloxone. Not everybody who uses drugs or spends time with/around people who use drugs is comfortable carrying or using injectable naloxone, so having the nasal form of it is such a game changer. It is user-friendly and familiar to many people because it is used like a nasal allergy spray. 

Limiting the accessibility of either form of this opioid antagonist costs people their lives.  Narcan is great, but its important for naloxone to be recognized as well, because if more people know, the more likely they are to get some and learn how to use it if they might need it. And of course, it is important for other people to know how to use it because a person who is overdosing cannot self-administer it.

Anywayyyy, all that is to say that this shirt design is from late 2017 or early 2018 (I don't fully remember) -- which is when I first learned about Narcan and harm reduction as a movement in general. I actually didn't find out about IM naloxone until a couple years later!  I will be retiring this design once it fully sells out, so it's sort of "limited edition" now I guess. \nAfter that, I'll work on a new shirt design. Overdose "reversal" drugs are merely tools available to help save lives, but they are not enough... They are not a solution to the crisis of toxic drug supply in America and elsewhere that exists as a result of prohibition. 

 

Allergen Info:

Product comes from a home with pets (dog).