Pubdate: Wed, 01 Mar 2017
Source: Ottawa Citizen (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Postmedia Network Inc.
Contact:  http://www.ottawacitizen.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/326
Author: Christina Spencer
Page: A9

TOUGH TALK OVER OPIOIDS

This week, hundreds of parents and young people gathered in Kanata to
discuss how to protect the community from the potentially deadly
opioids and counterfeit drugs flowing into Ottawa. Galvanized by local
parent Sean O'Leary, who came forward in mid-February with the story
of his daughter's addiction struggle, people are showing an urgent
desire to combat these illicit poisons.

Now, how to harness that momentum to really make a
difference?

Kanata South Coun. Allan Hubley has been gathering ideas,
including:

* Identifying and closing "gaps" in community resources, notably the
shortage of "detox" beds to help youths during the immediate,
difficult period of withdrawal from highly addictive drugs, before
teens can enter treatment programs. Right now, detox often has to take
place at home, a difficult experience for any family. Creating more
"withdrawal management" spaces or blending them into related programs
is complicated. And wait lists for treatment centres are often long.
Bringing together experts in these areas could help sort out what's
needed, and how we can pay.

* Pushing for Criminal Code changes, so that manufacturers and
producers of these poisons can be charged with manslaughter and, if
convicted, face stiffer sentences. Not everyone thinks tougher charges
are necessarily the answer. Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau, for
instance, notes that while drug crime evidence and charges rest in the
hands of Crown prosecutors, "you're not going to arrest your way out
of this problem." Still, policing powers and border control issues for
drug importers are on the table.

* Getting more information into the hands of all community members,
including young people, so they know what to do if they encounter
these substances. In Kanata, Hubley notes, "There are a lot of house
parties where the drugs are getting spread around." Teens need to know
to warn their friends about the dangers of buying even from someone
they know since it's virtually impossible to discover what is actually
in these illicit, blended drug concoctions.

* Focusing hard on schools. In separate conversations, both
Kanata-Carleton MP Karen McCrimmon and Stittsville Coun. Shad Qadri
said they heard from young people at the Kanata meeting that they need
more drug-safety information at school, where educators must get past
the stigma of admitting a particular school might have a drug issue.

We can also use better numbers on how widespread the problem is. Not
every province or regional health network measures illegal drug use or
overdose deaths the same way.

We do know some things. A study by epidemiologists at Ottawa Public
Health, for instance, indicates that use of illicit drugs (excluding
cannabis) is on the rise. In 2015, 48 Ottawa residents died of what
are termed "unintentional" drug overdoses. Twenty-nine of these were
due to opioids; fentanyl was involved in 14 of them. Use of opioids
and other powerful drugs has been rising in all age categories. In
Ontario, according to a different study, what are called
"fentanyl-implicated" deaths have been rising steadily. The trend is
clear.

It will, as always, take governments time to figure out the most
effective policies and funding models. In the meantime, Mr. O'Leary
took the best step of all: convincing families to air their stories
and exchange information. We can all donate to treatment programs,
share information with police, and warn our friends about dangerous
drugs. We can learn about first aid and using naloxone, we can support
people trying to kick addictions.

The conversation has barely begun. Let's keep it going.
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MAP posted-by: Matt