New report shows record number of overdoses in Montreal but more people stepping up to help

Public health officials in Montrealsay the last year saw the mostoverdose interventionsever recorded in the city.

According to a new report, officialscounted 1,255 total overdoses, 175 of which were fatal.

And the current wave ofdrug overdoses is affectingall age groups and all classes of society.

The new data, released by theDirection rgionale de sant publiquede Montral(DRSP), reveals 77 per cent of overdose deaths occur in homes, while around nine per centof deaths involve people experiencing homelessness.

These figures were compiled between Aug.2022 and July 2023 in the Montreal area. Out of the 175 people who died from an overdose, 138 were men.Acloser look also reveals that the age group most affected are those between40 and 59.

"It's important to remember that behind these figures, each figure represents a person with a history, a family and loved ones," said Dr. Benoit Corriveau, who specializes in preventive medicine and harm reduction at the DRSP.

Thursday is International Overdose Awareness Day, and the DRSPis hopingto help break down certain taboos.

"We need to talk about it," saidCorriveau. "We have to take advantage of occasions like this to explain that there is often a context. There are many socio-economic factors, and there may have been previous traumas. There are lots of reasons why people might use psychoactive substances."

Chantal Montmorency, executive director of theAssociation Qubcoise pour la promotion de la sant des personnes utilisatrices de drogues(AQPSUD),suggests that many people use drugsto ease physical or emotional pain.

"We're talking about suffering. We need to accept as a society that sometimes, there is physical or mental suffering that requires medication, and if we don't provide people with the substance they need, they'll go elsewhere and self-medicate," she said.

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Montmorency says the statistics out of the new report don't surprise her.

The typical victim is not "the young punk we imagine,"she said. In her eyes, they are far more likely to be men from a generationwho have not learned to talk about their pain or take care of themselves.

More peopleobtainingnaloxone kits

According to health officials, despite the numbers, more people appear to be stepping up to do their part by equipping themselves with naloxone kits to help reverse the trend.

Naloxone can save lives by temporarily reversing an opioid overdose, which can buy time until emergency responders show up.

WATCH| How to administer naloxone:

How to administer naloxone if you witness an overdose

1 year ago

Duration 2:28

Sarah Kozusko of Regina's Queen City Wellness Pharmacy gives step-by-step instructions on how to use naloxone to potentially save a life after an overdose.

Jennifer Ricard has been going to work every day at the Grande Bibliothque in Montreal with a naloxone kit in her backpack since July.

"I work in a neighbourhood where people use drugs.I wouldn't want anyone to die because there's no naloxone available," she said.

"It's something very simple to use, it's nasal, it's free and it can save a life.Why wouldn't we [carry it]?"

In an effort to prevent a full-blown opioid crisis, in November 2017, the Quebec government made naloxone kits free at1,900 pharmacies across the province for anyone 14 and overeven without a health card.

One pharmacist in Montreal's Plateau neighbourhood says she's noticed a trend of people picking up a kit, even if they don't personally do drugs or know anyone who does.

"We're distributing a lot of them," saidFlice Saulnier,"and we're really pleased to see this increase."

"It's good, because people are aware, they see what's going on in the street. And they want to be able to intervene if necessary."

Saulnier says she's already had to administer the medication before, saying it's "very gratifying to have saved a life."

Supervised consumptionsites

A number of additional measures need to be put in place to stem the crisis, according to Montreal public health, which has recommendeddecriminalizing the possession of all drugs somethingMontmorency from AQPSUD applauds.

"Using drugs doesn't mean you're addicted and sick," she argues. "Nor should we be criminalized just because we use drugs, because legal drugs are plentiful. The drug that wreaks the most havoc is alcohol, and it's everywhere."

Among the actions to be taken in the shorter term, public health is talking about better support for supervised consumption services. There's even a desire to expand the offer by opening more sites outside central neighbourhoods.

These sites, run by community organizations Spectre de rue, Dopamine, CACTUS Montral and l'Anonyme, have prevented a large number of deaths. An average of 49 emergency interventions per month are reported at these facilities.

According toCorriveau, public health also wants toincrease the availability of drug testing and provide more widespread training ofthe use of naloxone.