Toronto drug users want more access to naloxone kits amid fentanyl crisis

Drug users in Torontowant more naloxone kits on the street as fears about fentanyl continue to spread, city health officials say.

There has been a spike in fentanyl overdoses across Canada in recent months and both police and health officials are warning that the powerful opioid is being added to a number of common street drugs, including heroin and cocaine.

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That's driving the demand for naloxone, an antidote that's relatively easy to administer in the event of an overdose.

Shaun Hopkins, who manages The Works harm reduction program at Toronto Public Health, said drug addicts are increasingly afraid of overdosing.

"They certainly are concerned," Hopkins told Metro Morning Thursday. "They don't want to see people they know die and of course they want to protect themselves."

Hopkins couldn't provide up-to-date statistics on overdoses, but said anecdotally they are on the rise. The Association of Chiefs of Police released an advisory saying that 2016 has been a record year for overdose alerts and seizures of "bootleg" fentanyl opioids that are made on the black market.

So far, The Works has given out some 2,700 kitsin five years. Its POINT program trains opioid users on how to recognize overdoses and administer naloxone if necessary.

That's still not enough, Hopkins said.

"I think everyone should have [naloxone] who's in a first-responder situation," said Hopkins.Currently, only Toronto paramedics carry the drug, and they might not always be the first ones at the scene.

"You don't want to lose any time in terms of the overdose, minutes may make a huge amount of difference for someone," Hopkins said.

In terms of knowing what is in the drugs addicts are taking, Hopkins says there's no inexpensive way of testing what makes up a drug on the street. The technology is expensive, so fornow Hopkinsrecommends that users buy from the same dealer, test their dose,use with someone else or let someone know where they are to check-in on them.