Pubdate: Fri, 11 Aug 2017
Source: Niagara Falls Review, The (CN ON)
Copyright: 2017 Niagara Falls Review
Contact: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca/letters
Website: http://www.niagarafallsreview.ca
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/2907
Author: Grant LaFleche
Page: A1

NIAGARA ON TRACK FOR RECORD FENTANYL DEATHS

The number of Niagara residents dying from fentanyl related overdoses
is on track to hit a record high this year, according to data provided
by Niagara Regional Police.

Police say officers have responded to 15 fatal opioid overdoses since
Jan. 1, with 10 of them involving fentanyl. Police responded to 12
fentanyl related fatal overdoses in all 2016.

This data only reflects overdose incidents that involved the police.
It does not capture overdoses, fatal or otherwise, that did not
involve a police response such as a person arriving at an emergency
room on their own.

Niagara Health System has started tracking the overdose cases it
handles but those numbers are not yet available.

Linda Boich, NHS executive vice-president of mental health and
addictions, said in a statement that "over the past year, Niagara
Health has seen a steady increase in the number of opioid-related
overdoses." Police don't believe the number of deaths is the result of
the population of drug users in the region is growing, but rather the
ubiquity of fentanyl, which has found its way into every corner of the
illicit drug market in Niagara.

"We are seeing more of the powdered form of fentanyl, and of course we
continue to have a problem with the prescribed fentanyl patches that
have found their way onto the street," said NRP morality unit
detective Todd Waselovich.

Waselovich said fentanyl continues to be cut into a wide spectrum of
drugs, including cocaine and heroin, and users often don't know what
they are taking until it is too late.

Acting Deputy Chief Brent Flynn said in the past harm reduction
efforts aimed at drug users included the mantra "know your dealer,"
with the idea being that if a person is going to buy illegal drugs
they should buy them from someone they can trust.

"That doesn't work anymore," said Flynn. "Sometimes we encounter
dealers who don't know what is in the drugs they are selling."

The rising tide of fentanyl, a drug several times more potent that
morphine, has exacerbated the opioid crisis in North America.

In British Columbia, where the crisis is most acute in Canada, the
provincial health officer said in May that B.C. is on track to see
more than 1,400 fatal overdoes this year, largely due to fentanyl.

Data from the Office of the Ontario Coroner also shows a rise in
fentanyl fatalities.

The coroner recorded 86 deaths in 2010, and that Ontario number had
risen to 167 in 2015, the last year the coroner produced data for.

When all opioid-related deaths are counted, the coroner says the drugs
killed 543 people in 2015.

The situation is no better in the United States, and on Thursday
President Donald Trump declared the crisis a national emergency.

"The opioid crisis is an emergency, and I'm saying officially right
now it is an emergency. It's a national emergency," Trump said at a
press briefing.

The rising tide of fentanyl has caused Niagara Regional Police to take
steps to assist people who have overdosed and to protect NRP officers.

Flynn said based on recommendations from an internal NRP working
group, officers whose work puts them in frequent contact with drug
users - including officers in the morality, street crime and other
intelligence units - now carry naloxone nasal spray, an antidote that
can stop an opioid overdose in its tracks.

The spread off en tanyl also increasingly presents a danger to law
enforcement officers in the course of their investigations.

In June, four Canadian Border Services Agency agents became ill during
a drug investigation at the Peace Bridge. Exposure to fentanyl, which
can be absorbed through the skin, was suspected.

In mid-May, an Ohio police officer was given the overdose antidote
after he suffered an overdose while on duty. The officer brushed
fentanyl power off his uniform after a drug raid, and it was absorbed
into his body through his hands.

Flynn said the NRP is reminding officers to use their personal
protective equipment when handling drugs, including gloves and masks,
to prevent exposure.

Waselovich said the message to officers was the same a decade ago, but
the consequences of not using protective equipment today are vastly
more severe.

"Ten or 15 years ago, you might be able to handle a bag with a white
powder in it and have a brain fart and forget to wear your equipment.
But you'd be OK," he said. "Today, that kind of brain fart could cost
your life."
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MAP posted-by: Matt