Pubdate: Sat, 22 Feb 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: Jennifer O'Brien

A LIFE-SAVING ROLE FOR USERS

Distributed by the health unit, they can reverse overdoses caused by
certain drugs The thing is, you don't want to call 911 when you're
high.

Even when a friend is dying of an overdose before your eyes - -
sometimes especially then.

Now, in a move asking drug users to be Good Samaritans - and, with any
luck, save lives - the Middlesex-London Health Unit will send them
home with personal injection kits that can reverse overdoses caused by
certain drugs.

"When you have drug users equipped to save lives, you have first
responders out there all the time," said Henry Eastabrook, an outreach
worker with the London Intercommunity Health Centre.

He's pushed for public distribution of the drug Naloxone, or Narcan,
for years.

"There is a lot of illegal drug use that goes on in this community,
and police and paramedics cannot be at every event - but people who
use drugs, typically use drugs together."

The reversal only works on opioid drugs, such as Oxy, morphine and
heroin, that depress the central nervous system.

In London, paramedics have largely been the ones to administer
Naloxone. Other Ontario cities such as Toronto, Ottawa and Waterloo
have already started distributing the drug publicly.

It makes sense, Eastabrook said.

"Even if 911 is called, and very often it doesn't get called, you've
got a lot more people whose overdose can be reverted temporarily, and
that prevents a lot of deaths."

Naloxone is safe and effective, said the health unit's Dr. Bryna
Warshawsky.

"People see it as a good thing in helping to prevent overdose
deaths."

Last October, the province made it available to communities at no
cost. Since then, London agencies that work with substance users have
been planning how to roll it out in London as early as April.

And safety should be a prime concern, according to one health-care
provider who has seen the drug in action.

"People think it's a wonder drug. It really isn't," said Jay Loosely,
education co-ordinator for Middlesex-London EMS. "It can be very
dangerous because the person sometimes is agitated and
aggressive."

He said sometimes paramedics wait until they are at hospital, where
there is "lots of security around," or use different equipment to help
the patient breathe.

Toronto has distributed more than 1,000 kits since it started the
Prevent Overdose In Toronto program in 2011. Health officials say the
program has stopped more than 100 deaths.

There are thought to be between 300 and 400 overdose deaths in Ontario
a year. Though it's tough to nail down an exact number in London,
health workers estimate more than a dozen a year.

In a city with some of the highest-per capita opioid use, Eastabrook
said it's time to start empowering drug users to take care of
themselves and their peers.

"If people feel their status is elevated by acting as Good Samaritans,
they're more likely to take care of their own substance-abuse issues."

- ------------------------------------------

[sidebar]

Naloxone or Narcan

Goes to receptors in central nervous system that receive opioids and
pushes them away. Takes effect within four minutes and lasts about 45
minutes.

Groups involved in planning rollout:

Middlesex-London Health Unit HIV/AIDS Connection London Intercommunity
Health Centre London Area Network of Substance Users --- --- ---

What are Opioids?

Central nervous system depressants that include oxycodone, Fentanyl,
codeine, morphine and heroin. They act to slow down your system,
including breathing. If you've had too much, your breathing stops.

Narcan Use in London

Number of times paramedics have administered Narcan:

2013: 24

2012: 12

2011: 15

2010: 16

2009: 24

- --- --- ---

WHAT THEY SAID

"It's really like an EpiPen for opioids and it can save lives. We need
to accept it as part of a much larger overall prevention effort."

Christiane Sadeler, executive director of Waterloo Crime Prevention
Council

"If somebody overdoses and is saved by the drug, it could give them a
shocking second chance of quitting."

Coun. Stephen Orser
- ---
MAP posted-by: Matt