SIOUX CITY, Iowa (KCAU) — The Food and Drug Administration is one step closer to making a life-saving medication more accessible.

More than 100,000 Americans die each year due to overdoses and earlier this week an FDA panel unanimously voted to make Narcan available over the counter. The medication can be used to save lives within minutes after an opioid overdose.

Ed Mahon, chief of police in South Sioux City, told KCAU 9 that every officer in his department is required to carry Narcan with them at all times.

“To our training to give a person Narcan won’t hurt them but if they are in distress or if they quit breathing because of a fentanyl overdose, it probably, probably will save their life,” Mahon said.

If the life-saving nasal device is approved to be sold over the counter it could be purchased in grocery stores and even vending machines. The FDA is expected to make a final decision on the drug in the coming weeks.