Fentanyl antidote kits saving lives in Calgary, health officials say
Fentanyl overdoses kill more people than traffic collisions and homicides combined, drive up crime
The fentanyl antidote kits that hit the streets in Calgary this summer are already saving lives, health officials say.
"These kits have already saved four lives," Alberta Health Services said in a statement.
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AHS started distributing them through street level agencies with its Take Home Naloxone and Safeworks programs July 7.
Each kit contains two doses of naloxone which reverses the effects of a fentanyl overdose.
One hundred have been distributed so far, AHS says.
The powerfully addictive drug continues to be a major concern for police and is driving up crime rates, says Staff Sgt. Martin Schiavetta of the Calgary Police Service.
"People who are addicted to fentanyl are robbing banks in our community, breaking into houses, they're stealing cars, they're breaking into businesses — it's something that everyone in our society needs to be very, very concerned about," he said.
In the first six months of this year, 45 people in the Calgary area died from fentanyl overdoses, more than traffic collisions and homicides combined, police say.
"The fenantyl abuse that we see in our community, I would say is a health crisis," Schiavetta said.
Fentanyl is a powerful opioid, used legitimately in pain management, but since 2012, when oxycontin was made into OxyNeo to stop or deter its illicit use or abuse, fentanyl has risen in popularity, he says.
It's easily ordered as a powder online, and if it makes it across the border into Canada, it's reprocessed into tablet form that resembles oxy80, according to Schiavetta.
"And they are sold on the street [in Calgary] for about $20 a tablet," he said.
The drugsfool awareness campaign launched on Aug. 10. It targets recreational users and addicts, and has had more than 60,000 visitors since its launch, according to AHS.