Naloxone could curb Fentanyl-related deaths

Mar 24, 2016 | 5:34 PM

KAMLOOPS — It’s known to be 100 times more powerful than Heroin, Morphine or Oxycodone. 

Fentanyl has been linked to countless overdoses in Kamloops in recent months. 

But a life-saving drug could help curb the problem. Health Canada has announced the opiate-blocker Naloxone will no longer require a presciption, and will be available over the counter at pharmacies. 

WATCH: Full report by Tanya Cronin
 

Health officials and many social agencies are applauding the move, saying the take-home kit is an evidence-based intervention, that will reduce the number of Fentanyl-related deaths. 

It’s small and compact, but inside this kit is a life-saving drug. Naloxone reverses the effects of a drug overdose. The antidote essentially brings you back to life, and it’s soon to be made availableover the counter.

“It’s a great thing, even families can have it, I don’t know if it will bring up the topic of parents and kids being open about their use, but if they think their child is using or it’s suspected, they can have it on hand,” says Street Outreach Worker Ray Davidson, Ask Wellness Society.

Street Outreach Worker Ray Davidson is thrilled to hear Health Canada is no longer requiring a presciption for Naloxone. Having been addicted to drugs for 18 years, he says the harm-reduction strategy could help curb the growing number of Fentanyl-related deaths in Kamloops.

“It’s almost every week we’re seeing it at least, when I’m working the streets and talking to people, usually it’s someone has overdosed or did too much or they didn’t know what they were using and I think that’s the scary piece, they’re not getting the same drug twice.”
    
Since 2012 BC has seen a spike in Fentanyl overdoses. Last year alone, nearly 140 people died, 57 were here in the Interior, and the numbers are steadily increasing. In January, 22 year old Ryan Pinneo was slumped over in a chair when his mother found him. That same month, 24 year old Ben Coan and Lance Ritchie both died, after taking what they thought was Oxycontin.

“What we’re finding is the Fentanyl is mixed in with Crystal Meth, mixed with Cocaine, previously it was perhaps a contamination in pot as well, and most of the time people don’t know they’re using it,” says Dr. Mandy Manak, Interior Chemical Dependency Office.

Health officials across the country have been pushing for change. Dr. Mandy Manak runs the Interior Chemical Dependency Office in Kamloops, where addicts and families are taught how to administer Naloxone, which temperarily blocks the effects opiates have on the body.
    
Fentanyl is 100 times more powerful than heroin. It’s hoped the BC government will act quickly in making Naloxone more readily availble in local pharmacies. It could mean the difference between life or death. 

“It’s very important, we’ve heard way too many stories recently where kids are lost, friends are lost and really uneccesarily, it’s an easy administration, you just have to ask,” says Dr. Manak.

For more information on Naloxone, or to learn how to administer the drug contact the Interior Chemical Dependency Office at 239 Lansdowne Street — www.chemicaldependency.ca — Phone: 778-471-6488