The dangerous and often fatal drug called fentanyl might not be in Jasper yet, but that hasn鈥檛 stopped residents from learning how to counteract an opioid overdose.
Last week more than 40 residents attended a workshop to learn about fentanyl and how to administer naloxone, a safe and highly effective chemical compound that reverses the effects of opiates such as fentanyl or heroin. Following the workshop each participant was given a free naloxone kit to take home.
Using oranges as subjects, people were given insulin needles to draw naloxone from a small vile before plunging the needle directly into the orange and injecting it.
The idea was to give people an opportunity to get more comfortable with using a needle and learn how to recognize an overdose and what to do.
Last year 343 people died from fentanyl across Alberta, up from 257 in 2015, according to Alberta Health.
Almost 90 per cent of the deaths were in urban areas. The hardest-hit were low-income earners or the needy. One in four victims in Edmonton and Calgary had no fixed address or known home address and 80 per cent were male.
鈥淒rug dealers are lacing drugs with fentanyl,鈥� said Stacey Dickerson, prevention and engagement coordinator for HIV West Yellowhead.
鈥淲e鈥檙e outnumbering our motor vehicle accidents, which use to be the number one killer of Albertans.鈥�
Fentanyl is a synthetic opioid drug used primarily as a painkiller, but in recent years police and other frontline workers have discovered that illicit fentanyl powder is being mixed with other street drugs, such as heroin, or being pressed into pills and sold on the street disguised as other drugs.
According to Health Canada, fentanyl is many times more powerful than other opioid drugs, such as morphine, and abuse or misuse, even in small amounts, can lead to death.
The province is fighting the drug on a number of fronts, including distributing naloxone kits, which can be used in emergency situations to save an overdose victim. Both pharmacies in Jasper have kits, which are free and available without a prescription.
鈥淣aloxone鈥檚 been used for over 40 years,鈥� explained Dickerson, adding Alberta鈥檚 first responders have all been equipped with naloxone nasal spray, which is significantly more expensive than injection kits.
RCMP Const. Patrick Vallee said police haven鈥檛 found fentanyl in Jasper yet, but they are preparing for its eventual arrival.
鈥淚 can tell you though that for the four years that I have been in Jasper, none of our members came across fentanyl in town. However, knowing that more and more detachments across the country are now dealing with fentanyl overdoses on a regular basis, all RCMP members across Canada are being issued naloxone nasal spray kits to carry with them while on duty and are also being trained on how to use those kits,鈥� wrote Vallee.
鈥淩CMP members are also being issued personal protective equipment to use in case they have to seize and process fentanyl.鈥�
Fentanyl works by binding to receptors in the brain that can cause a person to stop breathing. By injecting someone with naloxone it blocks the effects of an overdose, allowing a person to start breathing again. It only works if a person has opioids in their system; the medication has no effect otherwise.
According to Dickerson, someone who is overdosing will not respond to shaking, they will have tiny pupils, they will have stopped breathing, have blue lips and pale skin.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to look really unwell,鈥� said Dickerson. 鈥淚f they鈥檙e not responding to pain, they鈥檙e overdosing.鈥�
鈥淏efore you give them naloxone, before you put your gloves on, before you worry about any of that get to the phone and call 911. You don鈥檛 want to be alone,鈥� said Dickerson.
After making the call, the first thing you should do is put on your gloves because fentanyl can be absorbed through the skin. Once the gloves are on, remove the cap on the end of the syringe and poke the needle through the rubber stopper on the vial to draw the naloxone into the needle. From there, either inject it into the person鈥檚 thigh or upper part of their arm at a 90-degree angle. The needle can be injected through someone鈥檚 clothes.
Once it鈥檚 injected it can take up to five minutes for the victim to respond to the chemical compound and they may require multiple injections until help arrives.
鈥淭hey鈥檙e going to wake up pretty quickly, it鈥檚 quite amazing, but the problem with fentanyl is that if there鈥檚 enough in their body it will resettle into the receptors and they will overdose again, that鈥檚 why there鈥檚 a set of naloxone,鈥� said Dickerson.
鈥淥nce they start responding my advice is to (inject) the second vile.鈥�
Included in the kit, which is a little bigger than a sunglasses case, are three syringes, three vials of naloxone, alcohol swabs, latex gloves, a re-breather mask and instructions. The kit is sensitive to extreme heat and cold temperatures and should not be left in a car.
Paul Clarke
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