P.E.I. advocacy group looks to add more doses, nasal spray option to take-home naloxone kits

Charlottetown-based advocacy group PEERS Alliance says it's working to get more doses of naloxone included in kits distributed across the province.

Last week, P.E.I.'s Department of Health and Wellness expanded its provincial take-home naloxone program, meaning Islanders can now pick up a free kit at more than 50 pharmacies and community sites across the province.

The kits previously contained two doses of the medication, which can temporarily reverse the effects an opioid overdose until medical help arrives. As of this past spring, they now contain three doses.

But sometimes, that's still not enough.

"We've already been hearing from community members prior to this announcement that often those three doses were not enough to bring people back, in community settings," said Angele DesRoches, program director with PEERS Alliance.

"So it's really challenging and scary times."

Last week, the RCMP said they seized a synthetic opioid in a Stratford drug bust that is said to be more potent than fentanyl. It was the first time N-desethyl Isotonitazene/A-benzimidazole was discovered in P.E.I., and police warned that several doses of naloxone may be required to counteract an overdose of the drug. 

Nasal spray more accessible, but more expensive

DesRoches said PEERS is also trying to acquire kits that contain a nasal spray form of naloxone, rather than the injectable needles that must be placed into a large muscle like the arm or thigh.

"With the nasal kits, things may feel a little less intimidating than an intramuscular injection," she said. 

"I think for folks who are familiar with over-the-counter nasal sprays, the mechanism of delivery is fairly similar."

But the higher cost of the nasal spray makes it less accessible.

"It's about between $30 and $35 per intramuscular kit, where it's about $130 to $150 for those nasal kits," DesRoches said.

That price difference is a barrier for the organization, DesRoches said, but some who have trained to use the nasal spray kits say they feel much more comfortable using that method.

"Fear of needles, for example, that's a phobia that is fairly common," she said. "So for folks in those situations, the nasal product was something that allowed them to at least carry naloxone." 

Meanwhile, P.E.I.'s Chief Public Health Office said the provincial program will continue to distribute kits with the injectable form of naloxone.

"Using intramuscular kits for mass distribution means we can get more kits to more people," an emailed statement from the CPHO said.

DesRoches hopes that PEERS Alliance can source a less expensive version of the nasal spray.

"The more folks that have access, the more folks that feel comfortable accessing the kit, the more folks that are carrying a kit, the more responses that we're going to be able to support."