More than 1,208 people have died from illicit drug overdoses in B.C. this year, the coroners service reported Monday. Victoria and Vancouver Island continue to be in the top townships and health areas for overdose deaths. The latest death toll in the overdose crisis includes statistics to the end of October 2017. November and December numbers will not be released until the new year. "These numbers show that this is still something on the rise," said Andy Watson of the B.C. Coroners Service. "We're cautiously optimistic [now] that we've seen two months with under 100 deaths, but November and December were the peaks of last year." [continues 431 words]
Fighting back tears, Olympia Lynn Trypis stood in the rotunda of city hall and begged for better services for drug users, to save her life and the lives of her friends. "In the last two years I've lost three of my really close friends and I am tired of having to go to funerals and not celebrating more birthdays. These people were beautiful souls," said Trypis, 22, speaking to a crowd who had marched to city hall in memory of people lost to drug overdoses, or contaminated drugs. [continues 325 words]
It'll be months before London finds out if it gets the go-ahead and funding for supervised drug injection sites, but it appears key players already are walking in unison to support the sites, but restrict where they can locate. The area's medical officer of health, a key city planner and an advocate for the downtrodden all express some confidence there will be suitable sites sufficiently far from schools and other places frequented by children. "I completely understand why the city and stakeholders would want to limit where it goes," said Chris Mackie, the head of public health in London and Middlesex County. "I definitely think it will be possible to find one or two locations that will work." [continues 602 words]
Just how horrific Ontario's opioid crisis has become came into sharp focus this past week with the release of timely new data from Ontario's chief coroner, Dirk Huyer. Sadly, from May to July of this year, there were 336 opioid-related deaths in the province, up from 201 in that same period last year. That represents a staggering 68-per-cent increase. Health Minister Eric Hoskins put a human face on the startling statistics when he reminded Ontarians that "each and every one of these numbers is a person: someone who was loved by their family, someone who won't be coming home this holiday season." [continues 589 words]
Community Drug Strategy steps up efforts to combat opioid crisis Some 52 people were admitted to hospitals in the Sudbury area in the past six months due to drug overdose, official say. Members of Sudbury's Community Drug Strategy also said Friday they have had preliminary discussions about the need for an overdose prevention site in the city. They made the comments in response to the Ontario government's decision Thursday to expand the provincial opioid response, which they called good news. [continues 756 words]
Currently, some of the city's drug users have set up supervised sites in their own homes Contamination of the street drug supply with substances such as fentanyl has forced some of the city's drug users to set up their own supervised consumption sites in their homes. The agency that works most closely with drug users says the home sites indicate that Kingston needs a formal, government-sanctioned consumption site. "We definitely know there is a need because we are aware of people using their homes right now as safer places to use," said Dr. Meredith MacKenzie, a physician for Kingston Community Health Centres' Street Health Centre who described a home site as a "not perfectly safe, but safer, environment to use in." [continues 444 words]
Cambridge resident Cindy Watson wants the Region of Waterloo to put the brakes on the proposed use of safe injection sites. During the region's community services committee Tuesday, Watson spoke in front of councillors asking them to think hard before moving forward with safe injection sites. "You will be making one of the most important decisions of your career," said Watson. "Don't be pressured into using a broken model the model itself is broken." Watson said harm reduction is needed, but needs to be balanced with public safety and livelihood of downtown cores. [continues 514 words]
The B.C. government stepped up its fight against the growing number of drug overdose deaths Friday with the launch of a new emergency response centre that will link to regional and community action teams on Vancouver Island and elsewhere. The emergency centre will have about 10 full- and part-time staff based at Vancouver General Hospital and backed by a team of experts. The centre will analyze data, spot trends and work with new regional teams at Island Health and the other four health authorities to improve front-line services. [continues 632 words]
First co-ordinator of drugs strategy says community role key to success As the first co-ordinator of a plan to address local drug use, Lacey DaSilva knows she has been handed a weighty task. The Brantford-Brant Community Drugs Strategy, officially launched earlier this month, sets out goals to delay or prevent substance abuse and keep those already using safe and healthy. It also aims to ensure residents have timely access to services and to reframe addiction from an issue of criminal justice to one of public health. [continues 701 words]
Tracy Sanderson understood opioid addiction. Her daughter Kelsie began struggling with opioid addiction after she had a traumatic experience being tasered by RCMP officers. After drinking with some friends, Kelsie, who was 16 at the time, stole her parents' truck. When Sanderson received a call from RCMP officers, she said, "Keep my daughter overnight. She needs to learn a lesson." She did not expect to pick up a different girl the next day. "Something inside my daughter died that night," she said. That's when Kelsie's descent into fentanyl addiction began. [continues 986 words]
When the police came to Lois Fridfinnson's door and told her that her son, Michael Johnson, died from a methadone overdose, she fell to the floor. She thought that would be the worst day of her life. Her 23-year-old son struggled with opioid addiction. Michael had been waiting nearly three months to get into treatment. He had been given a two-day supply of methadone and was supposed to enter treatment on May 3, 2010. He died on May 1. [continues 1090 words]
As a power-lifter who could bench 340 pounds, a talented guitar player, and a driven young man with a strong work ethic who bought his own house at the age of 18, Jessie Kolb defied the stereotype of a fentanyl addict. If there's one thing his parents, Arlene Last-Kolb and John Kolb, have learned about opioid addiction is that it can happen to anyone and all the preconceived notions some people have about opioid addiction just perpetuate the stigma. [continues 1082 words]
WATERLOO REGION - The public school board is considering stocking every school with an emergency kit to fight drug overdoses, at the cost of $119,000 per year. Kits contain the medication naloxone. By injection or nasal spray, it temporarily reverses the effects of an overdose of an opioid drug such as fentanyl or heroin. Currently, local schools are to call 911 if an overdose is suspected. "If that was my child I would want someone to do something," trustee Cindy Watson said, after pressing the Waterloo Region District School Board to buy overdose kits and train staff to use them. [continues 465 words]
When Dalton Fredericks took Jesse, his 18-year-old son, to the hospital because his son seemed dangerously high, he learned about the stigma associated with opioid addiction. "I took him to the hospital and I said, 'I want you to keep him here.' I went home and after three hours, I got a call from the hospital that they were releasing him," he said. The nurse told Fredericks that his son had been doing drugs, but there was not much they could do for him. He had the RCMP take Jesse into custody because he feared for his safety. [continues 1074 words]
Packed event featured seven speakers, plenty of questions The fentanyl death toll is rising in B.C., but so is local interest in finding solutions to the crisis. A packed room at the Hume Hotel heard stories and statistics Wednesday evening from a seven-person panel at an event called Growing Hope: A Community Conversation on the Current Fentanyl Crisis, which was put on by Nelson's Fentanyl Task Force. Cheryl Dowden, executive director of ANKORS, co-hosted the evening with Nelson Police Department chief Paul Burkart. The event had been planned to run two hours, but ended up stretching to three as the audience peppered speakers with questions. [continues 600 words]
Latest statistics suggest Alberta will see nearly 550 fentanyl-tied deaths this year Fentanyl-related overdoses killed 400 Albertans in the first nine months of the year, according to new statistics on the opioid crisis that also revealed a disturbing rise in the emergence of highly toxic carfentanil. The numbers, released Monday in Alberta Health's latest quarterly report, show the province has avoided any major spikes in fentanyl fatalities this year, but has also failed to stop the death toll from climbing. [continues 401 words]
Four students share their stories of drug use on campus Illicit drug use among university students might be more common than our parents would like to think. According to the Canadian Tobacco Alcohol and Drugs Survey published by Health Canada in 2015, 11 per cent of 20-24 year-old respondents reported doing cocaine, five said they do speed, meth or other amphetamines, 15 per cent took ecstasy and 16 per cent reported taking hallucinogens. Despite being illegal, marijuana, opiates, amphetamines and stimulants are a very real part of student culture on campus. Although a large majority of students might never encounter them, these drugs exist within social circles across university campuses. [continues 1252 words]
Users fed their poisons - but safely - in public park It's the perfect setup for hard-core addicts. There's a special tent for crack smokers. There's another tent to provide safe injections of illegal drugs like heroin, fentanyl and opiates and handouts of Naloxone (an antidote for opioid overdoses) - the tent now winterized with the generous assistance of the health ministry. Overseeing the "military-grade equipment" that provides heating and lighting are two staff with the ministry's emergency medical assistance team (EMAT). Cost is unknown at this point because the "deployment is ongoing," says Laura Gallant, spokesman for Health Minister Eric Hoskins. [continues 623 words]
The county issued a request for proposals last week for local drug strategy to address opioid and other substance misuse issues Oxford County is zeroing in on the development of a local drug strategy that would include an overdose response plan for the opioid crisis. Last week, the county issued a request for proposals for the development of a drug strategy to enhance local opioid response while working towards building a sustainable community outreach and response capacity. "We are reaching out to individuals and organizations who may be interested in developing a drug strategy for Oxford County to address opiate issues and other substance misuse," said Peter Heywood, manager of health protection for Oxford County public health. "We look forward to reviewing those proposals in a couple weeks." [continues 218 words]
To say that Canada is in the midst of opioid crisis is, tragically, a gross understatement. This is an emergency. Some 3,000 people, or about eight a day, are expected to die of opioid overdoses this year in Canada. Another 16 others are hospitalized each day. To put that in perspective, 44 people died in the SARS epidemic of 2003. So Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor's announcement last week listing new measures to fight the opioid crisis could not have come soon enough. But, distressingly, as bold as the new measures are, they don't go far enough to ward off the epidemic of deaths caused by these highly addictive drugs. [continues 587 words]
Staff at Revelstoke Secondary School now have a new tool to keep students safe. The high school received two Naloxone kits at the end of September. Naloxone is used to counteract the effects of an opioid overdose. With a focus on student safety and well-being, principal Greg Kenyon said that getting the kits was an obvious decision, despite the school being low-risk for drug overdoses. "It's just another thing we do and have," said Kenyon. "It's like we're trained for responding to anaphylaxis and we're trained now to respond to Naloxone and administering that." [continues 635 words]
The fentanyl crisis in B.C. continues to worsen. In the past five years, the province has gone from 12 fentanyl-related deaths to 823 between between January and August this year. There have been no fentanyl-related deaths reported in Revelstoke, but RCMP still believe that the powerful opioid has made its way into the community. With the number of fatalities in the province climbing, it makes sense that community institutions would arm themselves with a resource to combat opioid overdoses. [continues 229 words]
The Vernon School District is taking a proactive approach to battling the opioid crisis. Rather than waiting for drug problems to develop, school counsellors, backed by the district, are tackling potential problems before they materialize through a new program. Preventure, a school-based preventative drug and alcohol program, aims to reduce drug and alcohol use in high-risk teenagers. "The starting point is prevention, then intervention," said Doug Rogers, district substance abuse prevention counsellor. The Canadian-developed program screens Grade 8 students for four personality traits that are considered at risk: sensation-seeking, impulsiveness, anxiety sensitivity and hopelessness, as research indicates that up to 90 per cent of at risk youth can be identified from these traits. [continues 595 words]
In an expansive report released Thursday that ranges from enforcement to treatment and research, President Donald Trump's opioid commission repeatedly discussed issues with funding to combat the deadly opioid crisis. "The Commission urges Congress to respond to the President's declaration of a public health emergency and fulfill their constitutionally delegated duty and appropriate sufficient funds to implement the Commission's recommendation," the Commission on Combating Drug Addiction and the Opioid Crisis wrote in the lengthy report. This report comes about a week after Trump declared the epidemic a public health emergency, falling short of calling it a national emergency that would have allowed for more significant funding to be diverted to combat the issue that has killed thousands in Connecticut alone. [continues 386 words]
Structure is meant to be temporary solution as temperatures drop, while Toronto officials race to get indoor location approved Toronto's illegal, activist-run overdose-prevention site in the city's Moss Park now has the use of an insulated, heated, military-style medical tent, complete with a generator - all courtesy of the provincial government. The khaki tent, which measures about three by eight metres, was erected Thursday by Ontario's Emergency Medical Assistance Team, a unit usually deployed for community evacuations or "mass-casualty events." [continues 860 words]
Government will work with harm-reduction workers operating pop-up site Ontario is dispatching its Emergency Medical Assistance Team to set up a tent in Moss Park to provide a heated and insulated space for safe injections. "This is an overdose crisis. People are dying and, today, Minister Eric Hoskins and the Ontario government have stepped up," Councillor Joe Cressy said Wednesday night. The tent will be set up Thursday and replace a temporary site run by the Toronto Overdose Prevention Society (TOPS). The ministry will work with TOPS staff, Cressy said. [continues 517 words]
Talks to move Toronto's illegal popup supervised drug-use site inside a nearby homeless centre have failed, but the harm-reduction activists who have been setting up their tents in an east-end park every evening say they plan to stay put. The crowdfunded, volunteer-driven Toronto Harm Reduction Alliance (THRA) has operated its controversial pop-up site in Moss Park near Sherbourne and Queen Streets since August, with tacit approval from police and city officials amid a growing number of opioid overdose deaths. [continues 706 words]
The City of Toronto and the province are asking the federal Minister of Health for the "immediate approval" of a proposed indoor supervised drug-use site at an east-end homeless centre where an illegal outdoor site has been operating for months. In a letter to Health Minister Ginette Petitpas Taylor dated Oct. 31, Toronto Mayor John Tory and Ontario Health Minister Eric Hoskins say the illegal site, set up in Moss Park near Sherbourne Street and Queen Street East, has saved many lives since it was launched in August by reversing overdoses in a neighbourhood that had been hit by an increase in such deaths. [continues 660 words]
As a province, Saskatchewan is not known to be on the cutting edge as a national trendsetter. When it comes to the opioid crisis, we should be thrilled to be behind the curve. Recent stories about opioid deaths should prompt officials in Saskatchewan to ramp up activities to prevent an increase in deaths here. In Abbotsford, B.C., five people ages 40 to 67 died of overdoses in a nine-hour period on Friday. The two women and three men all died alone. [continues 357 words]
Re. "MP hosts impassioned debate over supervised injection sites in southwest," Oct. 30 The title should have been "MP misses the point." Supervised consumption services (SCS) primarily save lives, and anyone who has lost a loved one can tell you how important that is. Our son Danny died from an overdose in 2014. He was only 25, was a promising young chef and is dearly missed. There are many families like ours who are members in our group Moms Stop The Harm, who live in MP Matt Jeneroux's riding of Edmonton-Riverbend. I encourage him to meet them. [continues 111 words]
The solution lies in public education, not punishment, writes Terry Lake. Recently, I attended a meeting hosted by We the Parents, a Kanata organization trying to address the challenge of addictions and the very real tragedies that befall affected families. I saw grieving parents struggling to understand both the complexities of addiction and the way our health and criminal justice systems are responding to it. Understandably, many who attended were looking for straightforward, actionable solutions to this crisis. They were met with a response by one former senior police officer that those selling drugs should be given harsher sentences. While it may seem appealing to go after the dealers instead of the user, in fact, many dealers are themselves struggling with addiction and using whatever tools are at hand, including selling drugs, to cope with that addiction. [continues 590 words]
Alberta health officials are handing out between 2,000 and 3,000 naloxone kits a month to combat a lethal fentanyl epidemic. In two years of providing at least 30,972 of the free kits that include the anti-narcotic formula, Naloxone has reversed a reported 2,330 overdoses in the province, said Dr. Nick Etches, medical officer of health for the Calgary region. "Certainly, there have been more reversals than reported, the majority of times people are not telling us," he said, also noting those numbers are as of Sept. 30, and don't include naloxone interventions delivered by medical professionals. [continues 468 words]
With just enough methadone to last the trip home to Montreal, Melodie was in a panic that she'd missed her flight. She was in Paris, and her supply of prescription methadone, a medicine that helps lower cravings and withdrawal symptoms caused by opiate use, was about to run out. Without it, she worried about a relapse, going into the street in desperation, and doing something dangerous for a fix. But an online search brought her to a Parisian mobile health clinic. And they welcomed her. They gave her the methadone that she needed to stay sober. There was no bureaucracy, no delay, and no prescription signed by someone in authority - just instant help. [continues 538 words]
Alberta's first supervised drug injection sites will open within months at four locations in Edmonton's inner city after receiving approval from Health Canada, the provincial government announced Wednesday. Proponents hailed the news as a "long overdue" step that will save lives and direct more addicts into treatment. The goal is to get three community sites open by late December or early January, while a fourth facility at the Royal Alexandra Hospital is anticipated to open sometime in the spring of 2018. [continues 1235 words]
Thirteen Canadians a day were hospitalized for an opioid overdose in 2014-2015, according to the Canadian Institute of Health Information, and the rate of opioid poisoning hospitalizations has been steadily rising. What began with the over-prescription of opioids such as OxyContin, a painkiller once thought to have a low potential for addiction, led to the diversion of legal drugs to the illegal market, and later to the dramatic expansion of the illegal production of fentanyl. As the horror stories of addiction and death multiply, it is clear that what was once a medical issue is now a population-health crisis. [continues 634 words]
Students to learn to detect overdoses and reverse them using naloxone kits The University of B.C.'s Alma Mater Society is organizing mass training events to teach students to recognize and reverse drug overdoses amid a devastating provincial health emergency that shows no sign of slowing down. Organizers say 120 students are registered for a two-hour training session Thursday in the student union building at UBC's Vancouver campus, where they'll learn the signs of an overdose, how to use a naloxone kit and the role stigma-free language plays in improving the lives of people who use drugs. [continues 547 words]
This is looking after our own people here as well as the public." Doug Barfoot, fire chief Owen Sound firefighters will soon have a new tool at their disposal that could potentially save lives. Fire Chief Doug Barfoot said within the next month or so, Owen Sound Fire & Emergency Services will begin carrying naloxone - the highly effective drug that can temporarily reverse an overdose by fentanyl or other opioids - on their main truck. "We're trying to be proactive here," he said in an interview. [continues 658 words]
According to the Canadian Institute of Health Information (CIHI), the rate of opioid poisoning hospitalizations has been steadily on the rise with about 13 Canadians a day hospitalized for an opioid overdose in 2014-2015. The over-prescription of opioids such as OxyContin, a painkiller previously thought to have a low potential for addiction, led first to the diversion of legal drugs to the illegal market, and later, to the dramatic expansion of the illegal production of fentanyl. As the horror stories of addiction and death have multiplied, it is now clear that what was once a medical issue is now a population health crisis. [continues 670 words]
ACCORDING to the Canadian Institute for Health Information, the rate of opioid poisoning hospitalizations has been steadily on the rise, with approximately 13 Canadians a day hospitalized for an opioid overdose in 2014-15. What began with the over-prescription of opioids such as OxyContin, a painkiller previously thought to have a low potential for addiction, led first to the diversion of legal drugs to the illegal market, and later to the dramatic expansion of the illegal production of fentanyl. As the horror stories of addiction and death have multiplied, it is now clear that what was once a medical issue is now a population health crisis. [continues 673 words]
Health unit getting up to $150,000 to reduce opioid-caused harm in Sarnia-Lambton Police, health agencies, school boards and others, spurred by the opioid crisis, have joined up to craft a strategy aimed at preventing overdose deaths in Sarnia-Lambton. A group of more than 20 agencies met this week to talk about ways to intervene, said Lynn Laidler, executive director of the Rapids Family Health Team, noting she was spurred to act after reading about a fatal overdose in August likely caused by fentanyl-laced cocaine. [continues 447 words]
In more than 35 years as an emergency room physician, Dan Morhaim has learned a lot about opioids. The doctor, Maryland state legislator and faculty member at the John Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health said he has had the opportunity to talk to thousands of drug users while treating patients. "It's given me tremendous insight into what goes on and that's informed a lot of the policies that I've promoted," he said. The physician was in Calgary on Wednesday to speak about that approach as part of a University of Calgary School of Public Policy and O'Brien Institute of Public Health event. [continues 396 words]
People on the front lines of British Columbia's opioid overdose crisis are applauding the government's announcement of more funding in an attempt to stem the death toll. Premier John Horgan announced Friday the province will spend more than $31 million over the next three years to increase access to treatment programs, offer more free kits of the overdose-reversing drug naloxone, help front-line workers and empower communities to keep people safe. Speaking to a crowd of politicians at the Union of B.C. Municipalities Convention, Horgan noted 876 people died in the province between January and July of this year. [continues 546 words]
Protesters turn on Coun. Fleury for seeking the closure of temporary tent pop-up clinic For over a year, Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury has been one of city council's most vocal backers of a supervised drug injection site to save Ottawa drug users from overdoses. Friday, protesters crowded outside Fleury's city hall office, calling him everything but a killer. About 100 supporters of Overdose Prevention Ottawa and its "pop-up" tent in a Lowertown park chanted "Shame!" and demanded he "man up!" and face them. [continues 1103 words]
'POP-UP' SAFE INJECTION SITE IN LOWERTOWN People crowd in the reception area for councillors' offices at city hall yesterday to protest councillor Mathieu Fleury suggesting a Lowertown 'pop-up' safe-injection site be removed. For over a year, Rideau-Vanier Coun. Mathieu Fleury has been one of city council's most vocal backers of a supervised drug-injection site to save Ottawa drug users from overdoses. Friday, protesters crowded outside Fleury's city hall office, calling him everything but a killer. [continues 635 words]
The Toronto Board of Health has joined the chorus of voices asking the Ontario government to better fight the opioid crisis. This week, the board voted unanimously to recommend the province declare the opioid crisis a provincial emergency. Last month, more than 700 health-care workers across Ontario signed an open letter also requesting Premier Kathleen Wynne declare the opioid crisis a provincial emergency. In response to last month's open letter, Ontario's Health Minister Eric Hoskins resisted declaring an emergency and instead offered a familiar solution: spending more money. The provincial government plans to spend $222-million over three years to hire more harm-reduction workers, expand the supply of naloxone and create more clinics. Following the board of health's vote, Dr. Hoskins doubled down on his refusal to label the opioid crisis an emergency. [continues 599 words]
Many cases unreported due to naloxone distribution, says health official There's likely a large number of unreported opioid overdoses in North Bay. That's because the antidote naloxone is being distributed by pharmacies and front-line organizations to those struggling with addiction, as well as their friends and family members, throughout the community. Kathleen Jodouin, HIV education co-ordinator at the AIDS Committee of North Bay and Area, says her organization has had a take-home naloxone program in place for the past two years. And, she says, the drug, which temporarily reverses the effects of heroin and other opioid drugs, is frequently given out. [continues 602 words]
The opioid crisis plaguing much of Canada has made its mark on southwestern Ontario's emergency rooms. Visits to the region's emergency rooms for opioid overdoses went up almost 28 per cent from 281 in 2015 to 359 in 2016, according to statistics recently released by Public Health Ontario. Divided by health unit, Chatham-Kent, and Lambton and Huron numbers actually dipped in 2016 compared to 2015 while Elgin-St. Thomas, Middlesex-London and Oxford numbers skyrocketed. "We've seen high rates of overdose here for several years. We've seen the hospital rates go up," said Dr. Chris Mackie, medical officer of health for the London-Middlesex Health Unit. [continues 547 words]
PORT HOPE - A detailed report about how the local health unit is battling opioid overdoses and fatalities does not yet include a safe injection site like the one established this summer after a volunteer pop-up tent appeared in Toronto. After receiving the Medical Officer of Health's (MOH) report about how the inventory, supply and control of Naloxone has been established and the first "pop up" Naloxone community event was held at the hospital in Lindsay last month, board members of the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit asked if there were plans in place to react to a "pop-up" safe injection site should it occur in the health unit's own tri-county jurisdiction. [continues 118 words]
Nothing seems to have the cops and local and provincial politicians scrambling more these days than their attempts to get ahead of the federal government's plans to make marijuana legal by next summer. But that should hardly be too much of distraction to allow the toker in the Prime Minister's office, the cute and clever Justin Trudeau, off the hook when it comes to effectively dealing with a more immediately critical drug issue, the opioid crisis. Yet is seems to have. [continues 650 words]
While politicians were busy debating whether to create a new group to deal with an opioid crisis, community agencies went ahead and formed it themselves. That created a confusing conversation at a city hall committee on Monday night, when politicians debated the opioid crisis working group for the third time since Aug. 1. But third time's the charm. Originally, Mayor Matt Brown asked council to establish the group, billed as a task force that would help address the opioid crisis that's killing dozens of Londoners each year. [continues 386 words]
