Pubdate: Mon, 28 Nov 2016
Source: Edmonton Journal (CN AB)
Copyright: 2016 The Edmonton Journal
Website: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/134
Author: Juris Graney
Page: A1

U OF A STUDENTS BEGIN TAKING OVERDOSE KITS

University dispenses naloxone as part of fentanyl campaign

The University of Alberta has dispensed 11 fentanyl overdose response
kits since the start of the fall term to head o the province's most
pressing and deadly health crisis.

Even though the injectable naloxone packs have been available since
last year, the uptake by students is being attributed to the fact the
stigma associated with accessing the packs is slowly disappearing as
more and more people realize the lethality of the opioid.

Kevin Friese, health and wellness assistant dean, said the kits are
just a part of the university's fentanyl campaign, which mirrors that
of the Alberta Health Service in terms of education and awareness.

"We know, in any community setting, there's going to be some level of
drug abuse that occurs and in those situations … we want to do
everything we can to ensure that we reduce harms and ensure the safety
of those individuals," Friese said.

No fentanyl-related deaths have been reported on the campus, but the
sheer magnitude of the health crisis is staggering.

Between 2009-14, the number of Canadians who died from a fentanyl
overdose was estimated to be at least 1,700. In 2015 alone, it was
more than 2,000

In Alberta the number continues to climb. Fentanyl was believed to be
a contributing factor in 120 deaths in 2014, and a year later, that
number more than doubled to 272 deaths.

Of the 338 Albertans who have died from an apparent drug overdose
related to an opioid in the first nine months of this year, 193 were
directly linked to fentanyl.

When the kits were originally deployed last spring, only fentanyl
users were able to access them, but now they can be dispensed to other
individuals, Friese said.

"I think there was a lot of stigma originally, and probably rightly
so, concern on the part of drug users that they might be singled out,
not knowing how their confidential information might be used when they
come in to request a kit," he said.

"Whereas this way it broadens the field for people around that
individual."

Friese said the risk fentanyl poses to students "is a very serious
concern," especially because of the misconceptions surrounding the
opioid.

"While there are people who are seeking out fentanyl, we know that it
is added to so many other illicit drugs in order to strengthen the
addictive quality of the drug, and that's really concerning, because
people may be assuming they're taking a 'relatively harmless drug,'
but not taking into account what may have been added to that drug," he
said. Drugs such as cocaine and heroin in the past have been cut with
fentanyl and there have been reported cases of marijuana being laced
with the lethal opioid. "You just never know," he said. The University
of Calgary has also launched its own awareness campaign.

Four naloxone kits have been available there since the start of the
year, but they haven't been dispensed among the students.

And that's a little concerning for Debbie Bruckner, director of the
University of Calgary's Wellness Centre.

"I think it's hard for people to wrap their heads around (the fact)
that taking one pill can actually kill you," Bruckner said.

Next week,members of the U of C's student medical response team will
be in the food court at the student union building to talk to students
about the drug and about the kits.

MacEwan University said it doesn't have any specific measures in place
regarding fentanyl, but said it will continue to monitor the situation
and take steps as necessary.
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MAP posted-by: Matt