Retraction: Public Safety and Narcan

I would like to apologize to the 33 sworn officers of Public Safety and to Princeton University. In a recent column, I wrote that Public Safety needs to carry the opioid overdose drug Narcan if Princeton is serious about keeping students safe. I did not do proper research before writing that column, and as I now know thanks to the Office of Communications, all 33 sworn Public Safety officers are trained to administer Narcan, which is provided free of charge by the Mercer County Prosecutor’s Office. I have agreed to retract the article in light of this error.

I still believe that opioid overdoses are an important issue that needs more awareness. Hopefully, this correction will serve to inform the University community that such resources are available in the unfortunate event of an overdose. The statistics I cited in the column, such as the 92 million people prescribed opioids in the United States in 2015, or the 33,000 overdoses that same year, are still important facts to keep in mind. The opioid epidemic is a pressing issue right now, and I am very happy to learn that Princeton shares my concern about ensuring our community's safety.