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We share a lot in common with our neighbours to the south and it seems that the drug overdose epidemic has been happening in Canada as well. With some very alar

by dchmiel 11y ago

We share a lot in common with our neighbours to the south and it seems that the drug overdose epidemic has been happening in Canada as well. With some very alarming rates of increase due to Fentanyl overdoses. In the province of Alberta, Fentanyl detected deaths have risen from six in 2011 to 120 in 2014.[1] Other provinces are showing double and higher rates of increases. If you were to look at Alberta alone there is a correlation to the collapse in oil prices, since it's an oil and gas producing economy, and increased overdoses. But Fentanyl is just this monster of a drug 80 times as powerful as morphine that is being laced into so many other drugs and sold to unsuspecting customers as OxyContin or laced into it. As a response to the epidemic the government is fast tracking Naloxone to become a non prescription drug since it reverses the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes.[2] I don't remember where I read that first responders (Paramedics, EMS) will be carrying Naloxone to administer it during responses. 1.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/fentanyl-related-deaths-soar-across-canada-report-says/article25920303/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/british-columbia/fentany... 2.http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/government-to-fast-tract-availability-of-overdose-reversing-drug/article28196221/ http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/national/government-to-f...

spinlock 11y ago
My cousin died of a Fentanyl overdose last year. This is the worst part of the criminalization of drugs, IMO. If heroine weren't criminalized, I'm sure my cousin would have gotten actual heroine instead of fentanyl -- which you have to be an anesthesiologist to administer properly, not a dumb red-neck. Of course, if oxy were legal (and I know that oxy is kinda legal but only while they're getting you hooked. Once you're an addict it becomes criminal) he would have stuck with that instead of moving up to the cheaper and easier to get heroine.
- hapless 11y ago
  The therapeutic index of opiates narrows continuously as addiction proceeds. Users have to skate closer and closer to dangerous levels to reach the same level of intoxication. While dosage, purity, etc may possibly make the drug more predictable, fundamentally it doesn't matter which drug your cousin was taking. The longer he remained addicted to opiates, as a class, the greater his risk of death by overdose. You have to be an anesthesiologist to administer fentanyl not because handling it safely is so difficult, but because managing high opiate tolerance is extremely dangerous.
  - mylons 11y ago
    you're not characterizing overdose correctly. it's often people coming from pharmaceuticals and not knowing what they're doing, or not knowing the potency or contents of their drugs.
    - ryantbrown 11y ago
      The majority of overdose deaths occur after a period of abstinence (getting clean, running out, etc.) followed by using the same amount (or more in the case of withdrawal) of the drug before the cessation. It can take as little as 48 hours for your tolerance to drop by a meaningful margin. My ex-girlfriend died in September of this year from a heroin overdose. She was in the process of getting clean and then relapsed. http://www.businessinsider.com.au/philip-seymour-hoffman-overdose-2014-2 http://www.businessinsider.com.au/philip-seymour-hoffman-ove... https://www.thefix.com/content/high-risk-relapse-how-going-back-out-leads-accidental-overdose https://www.thefix.com/content/high-risk-relapse-how-going-b...
      - mahranch 11y ago
        Another reason for a large amount of overdoses is drug mixing - people taking oxy and then xanax and then they're dead. But I think your comment and the guy above you both refute hapless's claim that most people who die from an OD are simply misjudging their own doses. In truth, I believe very few people misjudge their own doses. Drug addicts are notoriously good at knowing the exact amount to get them high. Why? Because too much is a waste (they try to extend their supply as long as possible) and too little won't have the desired effect. In addition to your reason for ODing (use after a period of abstinence), the recent rash of ODs in my state are because dealers & suppliers are cutting their dope with fetanyl and other stuff that the drug user isn't/can't account for.
        pdkl95 11y ago
        > taking oxy and then xanax One of the more common "mixes" that also happens to be particularly dangerous is drinking EtOH while taking an opiate (or other depressants). Unfortunately, as beer or liquor holds a different cultural status, it isn't always listed with other drugs. If there is any opiate involved, it will invariably be written up as a "oxy/heroin overdose" even if the main problem was the 10oz of liquor consumed the same evening.
sedachv 11y ago
> As a response to the epidemic the government is fast tracking Naloxone to become a non prescription drug since it reverses the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes.[2] I don't remember where I read that first responders (Paramedics, EMS) will be carrying Naloxone to administer it during responses. Naloxone should be handed out at needle exchanges no questions asked, it has no side-effects if you are not using. IMO whoever supported requiring prescriptions for Naloxone and syringes should be tried for crimes against humanity.
tallerholler 11y ago
This really hits home to me as one of my best friends and one of the most brilliant people I have ever met died 6 months ago from a fentanyl overdose alone in a motel room. I met him in the #django channel on irc about 10 years ago when I was learning python an django and we ultimately later became great friends and he came to live with me in California for a time and did consulting work. He was always way ahead of the curve with technology - he knew about technologies, platforms, and architectures before anyone else I ever knew would know about them. He also suffered from the disease of addiction and ultimately his life ended all by himself in a motel room in Texas after taking a bad batch of fentanyl. It was a complete and total waste and if pisses me off more than words can describe. He could have been working at Google but instead all he got was a short obituary in some small town in Texas. His death has motivated me in many ways in my personal life and in my professional life and I really hope that we as a society can figure out a way to prevent other people like him from losing their life at such a young age and having such a horrific ripple effect through their friends and family that is a total preventable waste. It sucks :/
- rjbwork 11y ago
  Society knows how. We've figured it out. Unfortunately, government is a giant roadblock to getting it done at the moment.

by dchmiel 11y ago

spinlock 11y ago

My cousin died of a Fentanyl overdose last year. This is the worst part of the criminalization of drugs, IMO. If heroine weren't criminalized, I'm sure my cousin would have gotten actual heroine instead of fentanyl -- which you have to be an anesthesiologist to administer properly, not a dumb red-neck. Of course, if oxy were legal (and I know that oxy is kinda legal but only while they're getting you hooked. Once you're an addict it becomes criminal) he would have stuck with that instead of moving up to the cheaper and easier to get heroine.

hapless 11y ago
The therapeutic index of opiates narrows continuously as addiction proceeds. Users have to skate closer and closer to dangerous levels to reach the same level of intoxication. While dosage, purity, etc may possibly make the drug more predictable, fundamentally it doesn't matter which drug your cousin was taking. The longer he remained addicted to opiates, as a class, the greater his risk of death by overdose. You have to be an anesthesiologist to administer fentanyl not because handling it safely is so difficult, but because managing high opiate tolerance is extremely dangerous.
- mylons 11y ago
  you're not characterizing overdose correctly. it's often people coming from pharmaceuticals and not knowing what they're doing, or not knowing the potency or contents of their drugs.
  - ryantbrown 11y ago
    The majority of overdose deaths occur after a period of abstinence (getting clean, running out, etc.) followed by using the same amount (or more in the case of withdrawal) of the drug before the cessation. It can take as little as 48 hours for your tolerance to drop by a meaningful margin. My ex-girlfriend died in September of this year from a heroin overdose. She was in the process of getting clean and then relapsed. http://www.businessinsider.com.au/philip-seymour-hoffman-overdose-2014-2 http://www.businessinsider.com.au/philip-seymour-hoffman-ove... https://www.thefix.com/content/high-risk-relapse-how-going-back-out-leads-accidental-overdose https://www.thefix.com/content/high-risk-relapse-how-going-b...
    - mahranch 11y ago
      Another reason for a large amount of overdoses is drug mixing - people taking oxy and then xanax and then they're dead. But I think your comment and the guy above you both refute hapless's claim that most people who die from an OD are simply misjudging their own doses. In truth, I believe very few people misjudge their own doses. Drug addicts are notoriously good at knowing the exact amount to get them high. Why? Because too much is a waste (they try to extend their supply as long as possible) and too little won't have the desired effect. In addition to your reason for ODing (use after a period of abstinence), the recent rash of ODs in my state are because dealers & suppliers are cutting their dope with fetanyl and other stuff that the drug user isn't/can't account for.
      - pdkl95 11y ago
        > taking oxy and then xanax One of the more common "mixes" that also happens to be particularly dangerous is drinking EtOH while taking an opiate (or other depressants). Unfortunately, as beer or liquor holds a different cultural status, it isn't always listed with other drugs. If there is any opiate involved, it will invariably be written up as a "oxy/heroin overdose" even if the main problem was the 10oz of liquor consumed the same evening.

sedachv 11y ago

> As a response to the epidemic the government is fast tracking Naloxone to become a non prescription drug since it reverses the effects of an opioid overdose within minutes.[2] I don't remember where I read that first responders (Paramedics, EMS) will be carrying Naloxone to administer it during responses. Naloxone should be handed out at needle exchanges no questions asked, it has no side-effects if you are not using. IMO whoever supported requiring prescriptions for Naloxone and syringes should be tried for crimes against humanity.

tallerholler 11y ago

This really hits home to me as one of my best friends and one of the most brilliant people I have ever met died 6 months ago from a fentanyl overdose alone in a motel room. I met him in the #django channel on irc about 10 years ago when I was learning python an django and we ultimately later became great friends and he came to live with me in California for a time and did consulting work. He was always way ahead of the curve with technology - he knew about technologies, platforms, and architectures before anyone else I ever knew would know about them. He also suffered from the disease of addiction and ultimately his life ended all by himself in a motel room in Texas after taking a bad batch of fentanyl. It was a complete and total waste and if pisses me off more than words can describe. He could have been working at Google but instead all he got was a short obituary in some small town in Texas. His death has motivated me in many ways in my personal life and in my professional life and I really hope that we as a society can figure out a way to prevent other people like him from losing their life at such a young age and having such a horrific ripple effect through their friends and family that is a total preventable waste. It sucks :/

rjbwork 11y ago
Society knows how. We've figured it out. Unfortunately, government is a giant roadblock to getting it done at the moment.