(WWLP) – Hampden County Sheriff Nick Cocchi told 22News he’s been talking with AMR first responders about the amount of Narcan they’ve had to use. Narcan is the brand name of Naloxone, the opioid overdose drug that has saved countless lives.

At least 47 states have some sort of Narcan law and make it available without a prescription in more than half the states, including Massachusetts.

Continuing Coverage: Opioid Crisis

Sheriff Cocchi said the increased access to Narcan has to be accompanied by education and prevention, “I have resources as far as mental health clinicians, substance abuse educators and substance abuse counselors and I’d really like to see if we can start partnering up with all of our local agencies responding with first response measures to see if we can start chipping away at the issue.”

In 2014, Former Governor Deval Patrick declared opiate abuse a public health emergency in Massachusetts.

This week, President Donald Trump announced he’s forming a special commission to tackle the issue led by New Jersey Governor Chris Christie. The President promised to step up both prevention and law enforcement.