Pubdate: Sat, 21 Jun 2014
Source: London Free Press (CN ON)
Copyright: 2014 The London Free Press
Contact: http://www.lfpress.com/letters
Website: http://www.lfpress.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/243
Author: Jonathan Sher
Page: A1

TAKING DEAD AIM AT ILLEGAL DRUGS

Illegal drugs are taking a terrible toll in London and Middlesex
County, killing people in such shocking numbers that health officials
plan a counterattack. Last year alone, 41 people died of drug
overdoses, a death rate double the Ontario average. Put another way,
nearly four times as many people died of overdoses as were killed in
motor vehicle crashes. The scourge of drugs is clogging emergency
rooms, taxing police and paramedics and outpacing services to help
addicts, reveals a new report by the Middlesex London Health Unit.

While such problems are everywhere in Ontario, they are taking a more
severe toll here.

"We're being hit earlier and harder," Dr. Christopher Mackie, London's
chief medical officer of health, said Friday. "The death rate is very
concerning."

The extent of the damage became apparent after health officials
compiled their most comprehensive look at illegal drug use, a report
Mackie will use to enlist allies and find ways to fight back.

He'll spend the summer building an alliance so together they'll
announce their intent Aug. 31 - International Overdose Awareness Day.
Paulie O'Byrne knows about awareness: The 29-year-old fought eight
years of addiction and overdosed three times. Four years ago, he tried
to kill himself by swallowing 80 sleeping pills and drinking 40 ounces
of whiskey. He nearly succeeded: His heart was beating seven times a
minute when he was taken to hospital.

O'Byrne turned to alcohol and drugs after the head of the Delhi Minor
Hockey Association, Randy Fakelman, fondled him - Fakelman was later
convicted of sexual assault after an emotional O'Byrne collapsed in
court and was rushed to hospital. "I thought I was broken," O'Byrne
said. Crystal meth would cost O'Byrne his teeth as the former hockey
player dropped to 115 pounds. O'Byrne sought help but went through 65
counsellors and therapists before he found one with whom he connected
at Addictions Services Thames Valley.

"She gave me the hope I can live a great life without drugs," he
said.

O'Byrne has shared that message of hope with others as a public speaker 
and will reach a milestone on Canada Day: it will mark six months of 
being free of his addictions.

But if others are to follow a path of recovery, public officials must
do more, he said. "We need more services, as a community and as a
country," he said. Mackie sees a number of challenges ahead. The
pharmaceutical industry applies pressure on doctors to prescribe
high-octane narcotics and steers research to focus on short-term pain
relief and away from long-term addiction problems, he said.

O'Byrne sought help but went through 65 counsellors and therapists 
before he found one with whom he connected at Addictions Services Thames 
Valley. "She gave me the hope I can live a great life without drugs," he 
said. O'Byrne has shared that message of hope with others as a public 
speaker and will reach a milestone on Canada Day: it will mark six 
months of being free of his addictions.

But if others are to follow a path of recovery, public officials must
do more, he said. "We need more services, as a community and as a
country," he said. Mackie sees a number of challenges ahead. The
pharmaceutical industry applies pressure on doctors to prescribe
high-octane narcotics and steers research to focus on short-term pain
relief and away from long-term addiction problems, he said.

Some doctors are too quick to prescribe narcotics and Ontario
regulators do too little to crack down on the problem, Mackie said.

*

[sidebar]

Collateral damage

- - Methamphetamine seizures by London police soared from 3 grams in
2009 to 1,121 g in 2012.

- - 911 received 602 overdose calls last year, with numbers spiking in
the summer.

- - Prescription rates for opioids are significantly higher here than in
Ontario.

- - ER visits and hospitalizations for opioid use are significantly
higher, too.

- - Death rate from overdose here last year more than doubled Ontario's
rate.
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt