Pubdate: Thu, 05 Nov 2015
Source: Regina Leader-Post (CN SN)
Copyright: 2015 The Leader-Post Ltd.
Website: http://www.leaderpost.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/361
Author: Charles Hamilton
Page: A3

KITS ON THE WAY TO FIGHT OVERDOSES

SASKATOON - 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 a 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.

Like Agioritis, he said the kits need to come with 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 okay to be someone who gets trained in how 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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