Pubdate: Thu, 05 Nov 2015
Source: StarPhoenix, The (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The StarPhoenix
Contact: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/letters.html
Website: http://www.canada.com/saskatoonstarphoenix/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/400
Author: Charles Hamilton
Page: A3

ANTI-OVERDOSE KITS ON THE WAY TO CITY

Naloxone Can Reverse Drug Effects

Users of fentanyl and other powerful opiates in Saskatoon will soon 
have access to anti-overdose kits that could prevent fatal overdoses.

Naloxone is a so-called "anti-overdose" drug that can reverse the 
effects of an opioid overdose from drugs like morphine, fentanyl, 
heroin or methadone.

Marie Agioritis's son Kelly died of a fentanyl overdose in January. 
While there are no guarantees, she says the kits could have prevented 
some of the overdose tragedies this city has seen in recent years.

"Absolutely it could have," Agioritis said.

Health officials in Saskatchewan are promising to provide take-home 
naloxone kits to people who are at risk of overdosing on those kinds of drugs.

"There is the chance to save lives," Saskatchewan's chief medical 
health officer, Dr. Saqib Shahab, told reporters Wednesday.

Shahab promised training so that people witnessing opiate overdoses 
can properly administer naloxone. He said the pilot project in 
Saskatoon will mean users and the people around them will have access 
to the kits and be trained how to use them.

"It really will be targeted to people who are able come and say 'I am 
at risk because I use opioids,' " Shahab said.

The kits are readily available in cities like Edmonton and Vancouver, 
where they have been shown to prevent potentially fatal overdoses.

Dr. Peter Butt, an addictions expert in Saskatoon, said the kits are 
a great first step, but obviously won't go all the way in solving the 
province's addiction problem. "This is a life-saving intervention, 
but it's not a treatment," Butt said.

Agioritis and Butts both say the kits need to come alongside 
increased focus on education and addiction treatment.

In 2015, there were 56 accidental overdose deaths related to opioid 
use in Saskatchewan.

Ten of them involved fentanyl.

Agioritis said most users who take opiates like fentanyl do so with 
other people - but most of the people who overdose end up dying alone.

She said the stigma around drug use should be reduced and people need 
to know it's OK to be someone who gets trained in how to administer naloxone.

"What if your kid dies because his friend was too afraid to use the 
needle in his pocket that could have saved his life?" Agioritis said.

Shahab still advises anyone who witnesses an overdose to call 911, 
because the effects of naloxone only last up to an hour. He also 
noted other health risks associated with opioid overdoses are not 
treated by naloxone.

"It's not a magic bullet," he said.

Details on when and where the program will be launched are still 
scarce, but Shahab promised more information in the coming weeks.
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MAP posted-by: Jay Bergstrom