Alberta Health Services (AHS) has put new measures in place to help the local health care system prevent possible fentanyl overdoses in town.
The Bonnyville Mental Health centre, located in New Park Place, is one of 29 walk-in clinics across the province that now can prescribe and supply naloxone, a drug that can temporarily reverse the effects of a fentanyl overdose.
“If you take enough (fentanyl), and overdose on enough of them, they can make you stop breathing. Naloxone is a medication used to reverse the respiratory depression,” said Ryan Chuang of Alberta's Poison and Drug Information Service (PADIS).
Clinics throughout the province like the one in Bonnyville will now have take-home naloxone kits available for residents to use.
“These take home naloxone programs are for people to potentially give to loved ones, or themselves, if they are getting into trouble,” said Chuang.
Although the drug only temporarily reverses the effects of the overdose, it has been proven to buy the user enough time to seek life-saving medial attention.
AHS is distributing 4,000 take-home naloxone kits and providing training as part of its response to the rapid rise in fentanyl-related deaths in the province.
Last year in Alberta, there were 272 overdose deaths involved fentanyl, up from 120 in 2014.
“We are continually looking at ways to reduce the devastating impact this lethal drug is having in our province. Improving access to these naloxone kits is one element in our government's overall strategy in working with our partners to address the harmful impact of fentanyl,” said Sarah Hoffman, Deputy Premier and Minister of Health.
Fentanyl, a strong medicine made from opioids, has become increasingly popular on the streets throughout the entire province over the last few years.
In November the Bonnyville RCMP sized over 500 pills of fentanyl during a drug raid at a house in the southeast end of town. The discovery prompted many in the community to increase the awareness of fentanyl and its dangerous implications.
The drug, which can appear as a pill or a powder, can come in doses approximately 110 times more potent that morphine and 20 times stronger than oxycodone.
On the street fentanyl has a variety of nicknames such as, beans, green apples, eighties, or greenies. The dangers of the drug come when dealers sell it under different names, or mix it with other substances.
“There is not great quality control, so people might think they are getting oxycodone and they get fentanyl instead and end up with problems,” said Chuang.
Signs of fentanyl poisoning include sleepiness, trouble breathing, cold, clammy skin and unresponsiveness to pain or a person's voice.
The most dangerous effect of the drug is that it can cause the user to stop breathing; this is where the naloxone kits can be used to help.
Naloxone kits contain instructions on how to administer the drug, two vials of naloxone, syringes, alcohol swabs, latex gloves and a one-way breathing rescue mask.
The drug, in combination with mouth-to-mouth breathing, is safe and effective in temporarily reversing the effects of a fentanyl overdose, providing it is administered immediately. Users then need to call 911 for further assistance.
“If we can get naloxone into the hands of more Albertans, we can reduce the number of fentanyl-related deaths. It is very important people protect themselves and get naloxone. Even if you think you know what you are taking, you are still at risk,” said Dr. Nicholas Etches, Medical Officers of Health in AHS Calgary Zone.
