News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
High cost of naloxone prompts rural Arkansas pharmacists to keep life-saving medicine behind counter
by Mary Hennigan, Special to the Advocate, Arkansas Advocate
April 22, 2025
The life-saving medicine naloxone was approved for nonprescription sale more than two years ago, but many rural Arkansas pharmacies still keep the overdose-reversal kit behind the counter.
Of 15 pharmacies the Advocate contacted for this article, all but two kept naloxone behind the counter. Pharmacists and business owners said requests for the drug have been low or nonexistent among their clientele, and they haven’t thought of moving it to a different area. Others cited shoplifting and the drug’s expense as a concern; several said more insurance providers should cover the cost.
Goodman Drug in Corning, a town of about 3,000 people in Clay County, was one of two pharmacies that makes naloxone available over the counter. Though owner Cathy Goodman said she didn’t have many customers come in looking for the product, she said it was important to keep it in an accessible location.
“Some people have prescription drugs and children in the house,” Goodman said. “[Naloxone] may not necessarily be for them, but it should be readily available to anybody who has anything [with opioids] in their household,” she said.
More than 82,000 people in the United States died of a drug overdose in 2024, according to preliminary data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. The same data shows Arkansas had 386 drug overdose deaths in 2024, though the figure could change as the data is finalized. The CDC reported a 28% decrease in Arkansas overdose deaths from 2023 to 2024.
Naloxone is packaged as many brands, and the Narcan nasal spray was a commonly known label when the U.S. Food and Drug Administration expanded its availability in March 2023. While the nasal spray is effective and designed for easy use, experts say 911 should still be called immediately in the event of an overdose.
Arkansas officials stress the importance of naloxone distribution as they gradually allocate the state’s $216 million share of the national $26 billion opioid settlement funds. The funds were divided between the state, counties and cities. The Arkansas Association of Counties and the Arkansas Municipal League pooled their allocations together and formed the Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership, which former state drug director Kirk Lane leads.
“I think there’s a stigma attached to anything that has to do with substance use disorder, and there always has been,” Lane said, acknowledging that naloxone carries a stigma. “It’s what’s always made it difficult for us to give resources to people who need it.”
Lane agreed that keeping naloxone behind the counter where a customer has to ask for it establishes a barrier. However, ARORP has distributed about 100,000 dosage units of naloxone statewide, and Lane said if someone has a will to access the medicine, they could get it very quickly from a local participating organization, law enforcement agency or emergency services group.
Lane said the recovery partnership has approved funding for a handful of pharmacies to provide naloxone kits free of charge to patients who can’t afford it.
Per Arkansas Act 651 of 2021, health care professionals are required to prescribe an opioid antagonist like naloxone under certain conditions, including when a patient has a history of opioid use disorder or if they receive an opioid dosage of at least 50 morphine milligram equivalents per day for at least five days.
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Patient hurdles
Spence Reed, an owner of the ReedHutchins Pharmacy in Heber Springs, said he could see how the behind-the-counter placement of naloxone in his Cleburne County store would create an additional hurdle for customers. But Reed said he’s also concerned that people might steal the $60 medicine. He compared the product to pregnancy tests or condoms, which he said are commonly taken to avoid embarrassment.
Several other pharmacy operators said they were worried naloxone would be taken unknowingly out of their business and have kept it behind the counter so they can keep an eye on it.
Chris Cooper, director of operations for Heartland Pharmacy’s 11 Arkansas locations, said the location of the drug depends on the storefront. While smaller businesses with less to oversee may stock it on their shelves, it’s mostly kept behind the counter as a preventative for shoplifting.
“It’s not cheap, so contrary to what a lot of people think — they think that it is still very affordable, a cheap medication that they can just snag. Unfortunately, it’s not,” he said.
Cooper said the behind-the-counter placement is not meant to deter use of the drug in any way, and he expressed support for naloxone access as drug overdose continues to affect thousands nationwide each year.
Naloxone is typically packaged in a small box containing two nasal sprays. Most Arkansas pharmacies sold the product for about $65, though Eudora Drug Store’s pharmacist Clara Rice said the price was up to $250.
Eudora is a town of about 2,000 people in the Arkansas Delta, not far from the Mississippi River. Data shows the town’s median age is 52, and an average household income is about $27,000. Rice described the area as having high crime.
“We don’t want to take any chances with having [naloxone] out front,” Rice said. “Of course, if there were an emergency, it would be easy to get to if that was the case.”
Such is the notion that many rural pharmacies described: If a customer came in and asked for naloxone, they would still be able to buy it.
“It’s a financial thing for me,” said Tyler Staten, manager of Gannaway Drug in Warren, the seat of south Arkansas’ Bradley County. “If nobody’s demanding it — then just like stocking anything else, if you don’t have a demand for it there’s no need to stock it on the shelf. As soon as somebody wants it or needs it, I’m willing to do that. We will do that.”
While theft may play a small factor in Larry Thomerson’s decision to keep the medicine behind the counter at the Gurdon Pharmacy in Arkansas’ south central Clark County, he also wants to talk with his customers beforehand and ensure they know how to use it, he said.
Thomerson, a pharmacist of 50 years, said he doesn’t consider naloxone to carry a stigma, and there are no restrictions on buying naloxone in his shop. “I’ll be glad to sell it to anyone who wants one,” he said.
Cissy Clark, pharmacist and owner of Clarks Family Pharmacy in Earle, also pushed back on the idea that purchasing naloxone is complicated by stigma.
“I live in a really, super small town. I’ve known these people since 1995; raised them from diapers,” Clark said. “I think they’re comfortable enough with me to come in and ask for it.”
She also said that she recommends naloxone to customers who are headed off to college soon in case of any emergencies.
Earle is located in Crittenden County on the Arkansas-Mississippi border. In 2020, the town had a population of about 1,800. The town takes up about 3.25 square miles, and staff said Clarks Family Pharmacy is the only local provider in town.
Still, Clark said she keeps naloxone behind the counter because of the area’s financial standing.
Financial burden
In Heber Springs, Reed said not many people have asked for naloxone over the counter, but it is included with frequent pain medicine prescriptions. He said that if a medicine could save a life and prescribers have to include it on their opioid scripts, insurances should cover it.
“We often try to tell them it could be somebody who doesn’t know what it is that gets a hold of [pain pills] in your house — could be another family member or grandchild — somebody that accidentally gets a hold of them and takes them,” Reed said. “That way, you would have [naloxone] on hand to hopefully rescue them or prevent an unwanted outcome.”
Mayflower Family Pharmacy owner Michael Thilo tells his Faulkner County customers something similar. Rather than highlight how a customer’s dependency on pain medicine is a physical addiction itself, Thilo said he puts a “soft spin” on naloxone to encourage people to keep the overdose-reversal medicine around.
Thilo said he prompts his clientele to think about what would happen if a child accidentally consumed the pills, which shifts the focus away from the person using the pain medicine.
“I definitely think there’s a stigma,” Thilo said. “I think most people see it as, ‘I don’t need that because I don’t have that problem,’ whether they realize they do have the problem or not. I think most people that have been on opioids long term just need it for day-to-day, but they don’t realize they’re addicted to it.”
Thilo said he hasn’t had anyone ask for naloxone over the counter, and affordability may be another barrier.
Of the most common insurance providers — including Medicare for whom Thilo considers the most vulnerable population — about half won’t cover the medicine, he said. He estimated that one customer out of every 10 who receive an opioid prescription at his pharmacy will pick up naloxone because of the copay expense.
“I think all insurances should be required to cover it for no cost,” Thilo said. “If we’re worried about it as a population, as a society, then I think we should take it seriously and remove the financial burden.”
Heath Branscrum, a pharmacist and part owner of Health-Wise Pharmacy in the small Sebastian County town of Lavaca, shared similar sentiments about his patients not jumping to pay the cost of the preventative medicine.
“One of the barriers to people gaining access to Narcan is the fact that their insurance is not covering, particularly Medicare-affiliated insurances, the over-the-counter version of Narcan,” Branscrum said. “…There’s a large number of people out there that are supposed to have Narcan available to them, but they don’t get it because it’s going to cost them $50.”
Other resources
Purchasing naloxone at a pharmacy isn’t the only way residents living in rural Arkansas can access resources to stop the opioid epidemic.
River Valley Medical Wellness, a primary care provider with offices in Russellville and Hot Springs, in 2023 launched the Arkansas Mobile Opioid Recovery (ARMOR) nonprofit, which sends mobile health units with critical substance use care to rural pockets in the state.
Attorney General Tim Griffin funded the first mobile health unit with a $777,000 grant from the state’s opioid settlement funds. After seeing some success, the Arkansas Department of Human Services provided the same funding amount for a second mobile unit. Tucker Martin, chief operating officer at River Valley Medical Wellness and co-founder of ARMOR, said the goal is to have five mobile health units that provide services in each corner of the state and in the Little Rock metro area.
According to results from a twice yearly River Valley Medical Wellness social determinants of health survey, Martin said patients consistently list transportation to care at the top of the list.
“They’re making a decision about whether they’re going to buy food to put on the table for their family, or they’re going to put gas in their car, travel 38 miles or whatever it is, to go to the doctor,” Martin said. “That’s the kind of decision that these people are facing, so that birthed the idea of, ‘Let’s create an environment where we can take health care directly to communities.’”
April 14 marked the one-year anniversary of ARMOR’s mobile health unit launch, and Tucker said 1,785 patients in a handful of towns were treated during that time. Each of the meetings are “very meticulously scheduled” and coincide with a providing service already in the community, such as a local church, he said.
More than 1,200 free naloxone kits were distributed to the community in the last year, according to an impact report from ARMOR.
“My deep, deep desire is to give the same thing that was given to me, which is access to a little bit of hope,” said Martin, who celebrated nine years of continuous sobriety in October.
At the state level, Griffin also has distributed a portion of opioid settlement funds to a variety of organizations focused on providing help to those with opioid addiction. Griffin recently launched a pilot program for the state’s specialty courts system and helped fund opioid research at Arkansas Children’s Hospital.
The Arkansas Opioid Recovery Partnership funds projects in all 75 counties that aim to abate the opioid epidemic. While Lane said ARORP doesn’t allow applications for naloxone kits from individuals, the organization works to provide funding for local entities that can distribute the resource in the community.
ARORP’s Naloxone Hero Project distributed more than 100,000 dosage units statewide, the majority of which went to local organizations. Recently, ARORP started distributing units to law enforcement agencies, first responders and fire departments.
The ReviveAR mobile app also teaches residents how to use naloxone, where they can access it locally and how to provide support for family and friends. The app provides step-by-step opioid reversal instructions in English, Spanish and Marshallese.
“I think in every ability where there’s any possibility of somebody overdosing … [naloxone] ought to be considered as a resource to reverse an overdose,” Lane said.
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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post High cost of naloxone prompts rural Arkansas pharmacists to keep life-saving medicine behind counter appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Assessment: Centrist
The content appears balanced with no strong political leaning. It focuses on the practical aspects of naloxone accessibility in rural Arkansas, emphasizing both the challenges (e.g., cost, availability, stigma) and the efforts being made to combat the opioid crisis (e.g., mobile health units, funding through opioid settlements, and partnerships). The inclusion of perspectives from pharmacy owners, health officials, and state authorities presents a broad view of the issue without overtly supporting any political ideology. The focus is on the public health implications and logistical hurdles rather than a partisan stance.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Arkansas correction division to enter settlement over disability law violations
by Ainsley Platt, Arkansas Advocate
September 3, 2025
Arkansas’ prison administration agency will enter into a settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over violations of the Americans with Disabilities Act at its Malvern facility, Department of Corrections staff told members of the Board of Corrections on Tuesday.
The DOJ found that the Division of Correction (ADC) violated the ADA by failing to provide proper accommodations to inmates with mobility disabilities, excluding them from “safely accessing or participating in its programs, services, activities, and facilities.” The settlement will require the unit to make several changes to ensure compliance, but does not involve a monetary penalty, according to Tawnie Rowell, chief legal officer for the Department of Corrections.
Rowell told board members that the Justice Department’s investigation started with complaints about scalding showers. Once the federal agency started investigating, agents conducted a top-down review.
“We ended up in a less than desirable situation because Ouachita River’s construction was under an old version of the ADA,” Rowell said.
The ADA, first passed by Congress in 1990, prohibits disability discrimination by federal, state and local government and requires employers and government to provide reasonable accommodations to those with disabilities. It was amended in 2008 to broaden the definition of disability in response to U.S. Supreme Court rulings. Disabilities covered under the act can be mental or physical, and do not need to be permanent.
The settlement had been brought before the board earlier this year, Rowell said, but ADC staff had gone back to try to address concerns about DOJ’s access to Division of Correction facilities as part of ongoing compliance monitoring.
“We got this, I think, about as good as they’re willing to go,” Rowell said. “It does still require that we provide a fair amount of access, but we did make it clear that it’s limited to the Ouachita River facility and it’s not going to be global.”
According to a copy of the settlement agreement, the Justice Department began investigating after “inmates with mobility disabilities” said the prison administration failed to provide them with accessible cells and showers at the Ouachita River Unit, causing “ongoing physical harm.”
The inmates also said they were injured by “scalding showers,” and “were not given necessary support or supplies to physically transfer between their wheelchairs and beds, showers, and toilets.” The agreement also noted the inmates said they were not provided adequate medical care.
A survey conducted by the federal government in 2021 found that the Ouachita River Unit had “barriers to access” for inmates with mobility impairments, the settlement document said.
Under the settlement agreement the ADC cannot discriminate against or exclude inmates from medical care, daily activities, education and other programs and services on the basis of their disability.
The division must make a minimum of 3% of the cells in the Ouachita River Unit accessible to inmates with disabilities, and must provide accommodations such as shower chairs and wheelchair maintenance. The settlement also requires the division to appoint an ADA coordinator.
Complying with the settlement will require capital improvements to the unit. The corrections department will be required to hire a DOJ-approved architect to assess whether the fixes made comport with the disability law.
The board approved up to $500,000 for the work at a previous meeting, Rowell said.
The division will also be required to establish and implement “comprehensive housing policies” to ensure inmates with disabilities are housed in “safe, appropriate housing.” The division will be required to report its progress on compliance efforts to the DOJ every six months.
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Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Arkansas correction division to enter settlement over disability law violations appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Center-Left
This content focuses on government accountability and the enforcement of disability rights within a state correctional facility, highlighting the role of the U.S. Department of Justice in addressing civil rights violations. The emphasis on protecting vulnerable populations and ensuring compliance with federal disability laws aligns with center-left values that prioritize social justice and government intervention to uphold rights. The tone is factual and measured, without overt partisan language, but the subject matter and framing lean slightly toward progressive concerns about equity and institutional reform.
News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Hackett student arrested after shooting threat
SUMMARY: A Hackett student was arrested after an anonymous shooting threat targeting the high school was posted in a student group chat. The threat, reported Monday morning, prompted Sebastian County deputies to station officers at Hackett schools for safety as classes resumed. Deputies, aided by Homeland Security, traced the post back to the teenager within ten hours. Investigators say there is no credible evidence the student intended to carry out the threat. The situation escalated through social media, complicating tracing efforts. The investigation remains active, with possible additional arrests, and deputies will continue a visible presence at the schools.
Deputies increased security at Hackett schools in response.
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News from the South - Arkansas News Feed
Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen.
by Jennifer Shutt, Arkansas Advocate
September 2, 2025
WASHINGTON — Congress returns to Washington, D.C., this week following an uneventful August recess where little to no progress was made on government funding, even though lawmakers have just weeks left until their shutdown deadline.
Republican leaders will need the support of several Democratic senators to approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1, since lawmakers have once again failed to complete the dozen full-year bills on time.
But what was once a routine bipartisan exercise has taken on heightened stakes, with Democrats and some Republicans increasingly frustrated by the Trump administration’s unilateral spending decisions.
The nonpartisan Government Accountability Office has issued several reports faulting the Trump administration for impounding, or refusing to spend funds approved by Congress, in violation of the law. And dozens of lawsuits have been filed, alleging the administration has acted to supersede Congress’ power of the purse.
The ongoing tension, combined with party leaders’ increasing focus on next year’s midterm elections, makes the possibility of a shutdown higher than it has been for years.
President Donald Trump said in mid-August he was open to meeting with Democratic leaders once they were back in town to negotiate a government funding deal but minimized the importance of talks.
“Well, I will, I guess, but it’s almost a waste of time to meet because they never approve anything,” Trump said.
Senate Democratic Leader Chuck Schumer and House Democratic Leader Hakeem Jeffries released a letter last week urging Speaker Mike Johnson and Senate Majority Leader John Thune to quickly begin negotiating a bipartisan stopgap bill.
“The government funding issue must be resolved in a bipartisan way,” they wrote. “That is the only viable path forward.”
Senate Appropriations Chairwoman Susan Collins, R-Maine, said last week that she wants to keep advancing the full-year spending bills, but that a short-term stopgap would be necessary to give lawmakers enough time.
“We need to avoid a government shutdown, which would be horrendous if that were to occur on October 1,” Collins said, according to remarks provided by her office. “And we also need to avoid having a continuing resolution, by that I mean a stopgap bill that just puts government on automatic pilot for the whole year.
“We’re going to have to have a short-term continuing resolution, but we’re making really good progress with overwhelming bipartisan support, and I hope that will continue.”
Another failure
Congress is supposed to complete work on the dozen annual appropriations bills before the start of the new fiscal year but has failed to do so for decades. This year is no different.
The House and Senate are nowhere near finishing their work on the bills, which provide funding for dozens of departments, including Agriculture, Defense, Education, Energy, Health and Human Services, Homeland Security, Housing and Urban Development, Interior, Justice, State, Transportation and Veterans Affairs.
The bills, which make up about one-third of federal spending, also fund smaller agencies like the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, National Science Foundation and the National Weather Service.
The House has approved two of the dozen bills — Defense and Military Construction-VA. The Senate has passed its Agriculture, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA bills.
The House bills have only been supported by GOP lawmakers, while the Senate’s bills are broadly bipartisan, giving that chamber an upper hand if the two chambers begin conferencing full-year bills later this year.
Without a bipartisan, bicameral agreement on how much to spend on all of the bills, it’s highly unlikely Congress will be able to complete its work before the Oct. 1 deadline.
U.S. Senate Majority Leader John Thune, R-South Dakota, speaks at a Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon on Aug. 12, 2025. (Photo by Makenzie Huber/South Dakota Searchlight)
Leaders will instead need to reach agreement on a stopgap spending bill that essentially keeps government funding on autopilot until lawmakers can work out a final deal on the full-year bills.
The calendar doesn’t give Speaker Johnson, R-La., and Senate Majority Leader Thune, R-S.D., much time to find compromise with their Democratic counterparts.
Both chambers are in session for three weeks at the beginning of September before breaking for Rosh Hashanah. They’ll return to Capitol Hill on Sept. 29 with less than two days to fund the government or begin a partial shutdown.
Thune said in mid-August at the Greater Sioux Falls Chamber of Commerce Inside Washington luncheon that he expects lawmakers will “have a big fight at the end of September.”
Last shutdown stretched 35 days
It’s been almost seven years since some federal departments and agencies had to navigate a shutdown, when Congress and the first Trump administration were unable to broker a funding deal before a deadline.
A shutdown this year would have substantially more impact than that 35-day debacle since, when that funding lapse began, Congress had approved the Defense, Energy-Water, Labor-HHS-Education, Legislative Branch and Military Construction-VA spending bills.
The departments and agencies funded by those laws, including Congress, weren’t affected by the shutdown.
Lawmakers have failed to send any of the full-year bills to Trump so far this year, so every department and agency would need to implement a shutdown plan if Congress doesn’t approve a stopgap spending bill before Oct. 1.
Federal employees who deal with the preservation of life and property as well as national security will likely be deemed exempt and work without pay until the shutdown ends.
Workers who are not considered essential to the federal government’s operations would be furloughed until Congress and the president broker some sort of funding deal.
Both categories of employees receive back pay once the lapse ends, though that doesn’t extend to federal contractors.
On to the stopgap
Congress regularly approves a stopgap spending bill in September to gain more time to complete negotiations on the full-year appropriations bills.
That continuing resolution, as it’s sometimes called, usually lasts until the last Friday in December when both chambers of Congress are scheduled to be in Washington, D.C.
So a September stopgap would likely last until Friday, Dec. 19, assuming the House and Senate can reach an agreement and hold floor votes in the weeks ahead.
Last year, in the lead-up to the presidential election, lawmakers approved a stopgap bill in September that funded the government through mid-December.
Following the Republican sweep of the November elections, GOP leaders opted not to negotiate the full-year bills and used a second stopgap bill to fund the government until March after a raucous 48 hours on Capitol Hill.
Speaker Johnson took a go-it-alone approach on a third stopgap spending bill, leaving Democrats completely out of the negotiations and jamming the Senate with the legislation.
Schumer and several Democrats ultimately helped Republicans get past the 60-vote legislative filibuster, but most voted against actually passing the stopgap.
The dilemma over forcing a shutdown or helping Republicans pass a stopgap bill will resurface for Schumer in the weeks ahead as he tries to navigate another shutdown deadline amid unified GOP control of Washington.
Arkansas Advocate is part of States Newsroom, a nonprofit news network supported by grants and a coalition of donors as a 501c(3) public charity. Arkansas Advocate maintains editorial independence. Contact Editor Sonny Albarado for questions: info@arkansasadvocate.com.
The post Every fall there’s a government shutdown warning. This time it could happen. appeared first on arkansasadvocate.com
Note: The following A.I. based commentary is not part of the original article, reproduced above, but is offered in the hopes that it will promote greater media literacy and critical thinking, by making any potential bias more visible to the reader –Staff Editor.
Political Bias Rating: Centrist
This content presents a balanced overview of the government shutdown situation, highlighting perspectives and actions from both Republican and Democratic leaders without overtly favoring either side. It includes factual reporting on legislative processes, quotes from key political figures across the aisle, and references to nonpartisan sources, maintaining a neutral tone throughout. The article focuses on the procedural and political challenges without editorializing, reflecting a centrist approach to the topic.
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