--- description: Thousands of officers will receive training in administering naloxone, an OD antidote described as "stunningly effective" title: Heroin Overdose: New York Police to Tackle 'Epidemic' image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c0cc7929608cfab/69869107cd68487daa094d57/ap690335533012.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [U.S.](/section/us/) ## U.S. Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Drugs](/tag/drugs/) ## Drugs Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # New York Attorney General Declares War on Heroin-Overdose 'Epidemic' by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 9:24 AM CUT  New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman demonstrates an inhaler of naloxone, a drug to be included in an overdose-prevention rescue kit, during a news conference in New York City on May 27, 2014 New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman demonstrates an inhaler of naloxone, a drug to be included in an overdose-prevention rescue kit, during a news conference in New York City on May 27, 2014Richard Drew—AP by [Per Liljas](/author/per-liljas/) ## Per Liljas Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 28, 2014 9:24 AM CUT Thousands of New York police officers [will be](http://news.yahoo.com/york-police-receive-heroin-antidote-kits-230932081.html;%5Fylt=AwrBJR7EJYVTkTcAJV7QtDMD "undefined") trained and equipped to handle heroin overdoses in response to a massive increase in incidents in recent years, city officials announced Tuesday. The police are to be armed with naloxone, a drug that can reverse the effects of an overdose, and given training on how it should be administered, Agence France-Presse reports. “This program will literally save lives,” said New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman, pointing out that naloxone had been “stunningly effective.” The Community Overdose Prevention Program, a drive launched last month, is funding the initiative. New York City authorities have said that heroin overdoses surged 84% between 2010 and 2012, calling current levels an “epidemic.” \[[_AFP_](http://news.yahoo.com/york-police-receive-heroin-antidote-kits-230932081.html;%5Fylt=AwrBJR7EJYVTkTcAJV7QtDMD "undefined")\] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/122133/heroin-overdose-new-york-police/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/122133/heroin-overdose-new-york-police/"},"headline":"New York Attorney General Declares War on Heroin-Overdose 'Epidemic'","datePublished":"2014-05-28T09:24:11.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:04:30.220Z","description":"Thousands of police officers will receive training in administering naloxone, an OD antidote described as \"stunningly effective.\" Overdoses in the city surged 84% between 2010 and 2012","url":"https://time.com/122133/heroin-overdose-new-york-police/","keywords":["Drugs","New York","NYPD","Heroin","Overdose"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c0cc7929608cfab/69869107cd68487daa094d57/ap690335533012.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Per Liljas","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/per-liljas/"}],"articleSection":"U.S.","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt0c0cc7929608cfab/69869107cd68487daa094d57/ap690335533012.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"AP690335533012","caption":"New York State Attorney General Eric Schneiderman demonstrates an inhaler of naloxone, a drug to be included in an overdose-prevention rescue kit, during a news conference in New York City on May 27, 2014","creditText":"Richard Drew—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/us/","name":"U.S."}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/drugs/","name":"Drugs"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/122133/heroin-overdose-new-york-police/","name":"New York Attorney General Declares War on Heroin-Overdose 'Epidemic'"}}]}] ```