CANMORE – Bow Valley residents are facing an uphill battle to stay safe during the nationwide opioid crisis, but the Canmore Young Adult Network (CYAN) the and the Bow Valley Youth Adult Coalition are aiming to help.
Alberta Health Services addiction councillors and pharmacists were on hand on Tuesday (June 26) to provide Naloxone kits and a safe place to discuss opioid use and abuse.
“Knowing that people were curious about Naloxone kits and not really knowing where to get them and how to use them, so we just thought it was a very beneficial evening to have,” said Tara Koenig, CYAN’s community development facilitator.
Fentanyl is currently Canada’s most dangerous opioid due to the ease of its illicit manufacture, widespread use and its toxicity.
Naloxone, also known as Narcan, is a medicine that can be used to temporally block the effect of opioids for approximately a half hour – enough time for emergency responders to provide stabilizing care to opioid overdose victims.
Signs of overdoses include nails and lips being blue, slow or non-existent breathing, cold and clammy skin and the inability to wake up – all signs that the overdose victim is suffering from a lack of oxygen.
Emergency responders and medical personnel are quick to warn that Naloxone is not a panacea cure for opioid overdoses, and that performing first-aid ventilation if it is safe to do so is equally important.
“We’ve certainly seen cases throughout Alberta where Naloxone has bought the time to save the life,” said AHS addiction councillor Kristin Spangenberg.
“We’ve also had a lot of cases where people have died.”
Naloxone kits are available free of charge and confidentially at Alberta hospitals and at most pharmacies where pharmacists also provide training on their use.
Legislators and public health officials in Alberta have embraced a public strategy of harm reduction.
Good Samaritan acts in Alberta, along with the federal Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act provide legal protection for bystanders and victims of drug overdoses.
The acts protects people giving first aid to victims, and provides protection for users of controlled substances like Fentanyl, so that they can seek and receive medical care without the threat of criminal charges.
For residents in the Bow Valley who are seeking help to stop using illicit drugs, options are available online and in person counselling is offered.
Smartrecovery.org is one recommended website for people not ready to talk in person about addiction.
Alcoholics Anonymous and Narcotics Anonymous groups are also available in the valley and information on these groups can be found through Alberta Health Services.
Addiction counselling and short-term mental health counselling is also offered free of cost and confidentially at the Banff and Canmore hospitals from 2 - 9 p.m. everyday.
“And we do want people to know that our services are a harm reduction approach, so its not ‘you can only come if you’re planning to abstain,’ ” said Spangenberg. “The person who make the call gets to make their own goals and we’re here to support that through the ups and downs.”
