According to the local Community Action Team, 60 per cent of overdoses happen not on the street or at overdose prevention sites, but in the home.
The reason, of course, is that for many, taking drugs is a secretive thing. They are ashamed of their drug use and don’t want others to know about their addiction. This also often means they are alone when they take their substance of choice. Which in turn can lead to much greater risk of death should they be supplied from a bad batch of drugs, or simply overdose.
That’s why a new website (www.cvdopealerts.ca) is a really good idea.
The website will give dope alerts about the quality of drugs on the street at any given time. Drug users can also provide the site with information they’d like to share, so it will be an interactive tool.
Most drug users, especially not home users, are not in a position to test their drugs before taking them, so this is a good safety step. The website will no doubt reach users who are worried about remaining anonymous, and would therefore not otherwise consult anyone before smoking, injecting, ingesting or snorting their preferred drug. This way, they will not have to risk exposing their secret to anyone in order to increase their safety.
The site also keeps track of how many overdoses there have been at the Duncan overdose prevention site (from Feb. 17-23, according to the site, there were six) and urges people to use with a buddy and have Naloxone handy.
While this is a positive step to try to keep people from dying, it’s another triage measure, like overdose prevention sites. More desperately needs to be done to begin to slow the opioid crisis.
Long term measures must include better access to treatment programs for addicts who want to quit. It must include more access to treatment programs that will address both drug use and mental illness. It should include providing drugs to addicts, with a view to cutting out illegal drug dealers and producers whose product is iffy and fentanyl-laced and who enrich themselves by preying upon the misery of others. This provision of a safe supply would not only decrease mortality rates, it would also cut crime in areas ranging from theft to assault.
The website is immediate, and a good start. But it isn’t even close to a complete solution.