Julien St-Jean
Pontiac August 13, 2021
Recent social media posts from Bureau régional d’action sida (BRAS) Outaouais have stressed the importance of carrying naloxone kits, not only for drug users, but also for others.
Their reasoning for this push, according to sexologist Alexandre Albert, is a surge in overdoses in recent years, which worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic.
In 2020, Quebec saw 547 overdose deaths, an increase from 2019, which saw 414 deaths. In 2018, Quebec had 208 deaths.
“Since the pandemic began, we’ve seen an increase in people using drugs. In the Outaouais region, it’s increased a lot,” said Albert. He added that some causes for this increase in overdoses have been increased loneliness and people trapped inside their homes and turning to drugs in the same way others have turned to alcohol. They’ve even known some who have turned back to drugs after being clean for 14 years.
“It’s the same thing everyone has lived through, just the substance is different. For most people, maybe it’s alcohol, but for others, it was morphine, it was speed, cocaine or whatever else,” said Albert.
He added that in recent years, even drugs that don’t typically cause overdoses have been laced with other substances, increasing the risk of an overdose. “There’s been a lot of drugs contaminated with different opioids, such as fentanyl.”
Naloxone rapidly reverses the effects of an opioid overdose for 30 to 40 minutes, and is used to buy time so that someone who overdoses can be brought to a hospital to fully reverse the overdose. It often comes in either the form of a nasal spray or a needle.
A map from the Quebec National Institute of Public Health shows that only one pharmacy in the Pontiac – the Uniprix Clinic Pavlina Zhivkov Affiliated Pharmacy in Mansfield et Pontefract – distributes naloxone.
Albert said that in many cases, pharmacists are still uncomfortable carrying naloxone. “That’s another big problem because a lot of people have roadblocks in accessing services that can literally save their lives,” he said.
Because of this, Bras Outaouais is trying to change the attitude around naloxone and encouraging folks to carry them not only for themselves, but also for others even if they themselves do not use drugs.
“We’re trying to normalize the attitude of carrying naloxone. We compare it to an EpiPen,” said Albert.
To help account for the scarcity of suppliers in the Pontiac, Bras Outaouais sends out naloxone kits for free to anyone who requests it. Albert explained that they’ve recently received calls from areas such as Shawville and Fort Coulonge requesting naloxone. The group also gives in person training at their office in Gatineau and in schools when requested.
They try to make themselves available to anyone who seeks them out because of their belief that there is not one archetype of person who uses drugs. “You see people with a $100,000 salary who use drugs, you see people who struggle to afford food who use drugs,” said Albert.
Bras Outaouais believes in a judgement-free, respect-based approach. They don’t want drug-users to feel judged for using substances or like they’re being forced into anything. Instead, Albert said, they try to follow the person’s lead.
“We’re not saying they should or shouldn’t use, we’re saying that if they are going to use then they should use it safely,” said Albert, referring to carrying naloxone when using or doing it in a place where someone can administer naloxone. “It can save a life and every life counts.”
