With the number of deaths from fentanyl overdose on the rise in Alberta, Alberta Health has increased access to naloxone kits, which may reverse the effects of an overdose of fentanyl or other opioids.
“This is just one of the steps our government is taking to address the devastating impact fentanyl is having in our province. The highly toxic drug is being used by people from many different age groups and from all walks of life – from our inner cities to our suburban communities,” said Associate Minister of Health Brandy Payne in a media release issued Feb. 17. “By making naloxone kits available at pharmacies, we’re expanding the availability of these kits, so they’re within closer reach of Albertans.”
Alberta recorded 272 fentanyl overdose deaths in 2015, up from 120 in 2014. The highly addictive and toxic drug can be deadly in even small quantities. It is part of the class of drugs known as opioids. Other opioids include morphine, oxycodone and heroin.
“They’re often used in medicine to treat pain or for anesthesia,” said Dr. Nick Etches, medical officer for the Calgary Zone with Alberta Health Services (AHS).
He said much of the fentanyl that is resulting in overdoses is acquired from illicit sources and not from rigorously regulated pharmaceutical sources.
“Fentanyl is a very, very powerful sedative and it takes only a very small amount to overdose,” Etches said.
Fentanyl is 100 times more potent than other opioids, like oxycodone, and is also highly addictive with users often needing to take more and more of the drug to get the same high. Street names for the drug include shady eighties, green beans and greenies, so-called for the drug’s green colour in pill form.
The kits are available at approximately 300 pharmacies across Alberta, including Safeway, Loblaws and Rexall pharmacies in Cochrane, Chestermere and Airdrie. Naloxone is also available by prescription from 44 walk-in clinics and eight harm reduction clinics, including the Calgary Drop-in Centre on Dermot Baldwin Way S.E.
More information about fentanyl and naloxone, including an interactive map showing where the kits are available, can be found on the AHS website, albertahealthservices.ca
