NPR has a report on narcan, an anti-overdose drug for heroin and other opiates. This drug has been used for years to reverse an overdose on heroin, but the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy doesn't think that it should be used for overdose-rescue programs that puts narcan in the hands of drug users.

But Dr. Bertha Madras, deputy director of the White House Office on National Drug Control Policy, opposes the use of Narcan in overdose-rescue programs.

"First of all, I don't agree with giving an opioid antidote to non-medical professionals. That's No. 1," she says. "I just don't think that's good public health policy."

Madras says drug users aren't likely to be competent to deal with an overdose emergency. More importantly, she says, Narcan kits may actually encourage drug abusers to keep using heroin because they know overdosing isn't as likely.