Valerie Farester of Cabot watched a brief video on Thursday featuring the state’s secretary of health demonstrate how to use a nasal application of naloxone, the opioid reversal drug, commonly known as Narcan.

She said she planned to keep it in her car in case a need arises while she’s out.

“In my profession, I need to be prepared for anything,” she said. “It’s a great way to combat overdose situations and, hopefully, help people get treatment afterward. I think it’s going to save lives.”

Butler’s health center is one of about 80 locations across Pennsylvania, primarily at state health centers and county/municipal health departments, that distributed the drug from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. Thursday.

The naloxone giveaway has stirred controversy and debates in the county about the use of the drug, according to Jason Beckwith and Melissa Coblentz, both of whom work with the Southwestern Pennsylvania Human Services and are drug recovery specialists.

Read more in Friday’s Butler Eagle about how this lifesaving drug is just the first step toward recovery for addicts in Butler County — and across Pennsylvania.