Introduction
This three-part series presented by RogersTV explores how the opioid and fentanyl crisis is affecting people in various cities in Ontario, Canada. The first video is largely focused on providing background information on what fentanyl is and how this dangerous drug has creeped into communities. One police officer talks about how “the misuse and abuse of fentanyl is a shared responsibility – it’s a public health situation that includes education, intervention, treatment, and enforcement.”
Part two and part three continue the conversation by adding in some more personal stories from those impacted by addiction, along with additional professionals. They also discuss how the pharmaceutical industry created the “perfect conditions for a Black Market,” how law enforcement is trying to tackle this problem, the basis behind harm reduction initiatives, and common barriers to seeking treatment.
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Quotes
“It’s important to have open conversations in the home and to start those conversations early … make sure the door is open, that our kids can come and talk to us no matter what. Make sure that our kids know that if they get in to trouble or start to notice that this is an issue for them, that they have somewhere to go and someone to talk to.”
“For a good 5 years of my life, I was addicted to presciption pills, other drugs along the way for sure, but nothing got me as bad as the prescription pills did … Someone had offered it [fentanyl] to me like it was a good time, like anyone else would offer you a coffee – that normal. That was the day that changed me.”
“According to statistics from the Office of the Chief Coroner, deaths attributed to fentanyl in Ontario doubled between 2008 and 2012 from 45 to 116.”
“In the 2012 Canadian Alcohol & Drug Use Monitoring Survey, approximately 410,000 Canadians reported abusing prescription drugs like opioid pain relievers.”
“One pound of fentanyl at 95% purirty represents enough to create 250,000 lethal doses.”
“Opioid misuse is the third leading cause of accidental death in Ontario.”
“Between 2011 and 2013, a fentanyl-implicated death occurred in Ontario about every 3 to 4 days.”
“People have been told for years to leave the person that is in addiction … it’s important that people still walk beside somebody with addiction. It doesn’t mean that you have to enable them, it doesn’t mean that you have to put up with the negative parts of it, but to leave somebody? I don’t think that there’s another disease that people have that you’re forced to do alone.”
LARISSA ZIESMANN – FORMER OPIOID USER
“Signs of an overdose may include one or more of the following: the person is unresponsive, or won’t wake easily; their lips and fingernails turn blue; the skin is cold and clammy.”
“Fentanyl was designed with good purposes in mind. It has very important therapeutic uses, especially for chronic cancer patients. Unfortunately, when it gets into the wrong hands or when it’s not administered in a therapeutic setting, in a clinical setting, then it’s extremely dangerous.”
“The Fentanyl Patch 4 Patch Return Initiative has been established for the purpose of the public education and awareness regarding the risks of fentanyl misuse and abuse.”
“A harm reduction approach requires us to dig a little deeper with that client, to understand what has transpired in that person’s life, begin to unpack that and then build supports to help them work through that.”en established for the purpose of the public education and awareness regarding the risks of fentanyl misuse and abuse.”
ConnexOntario: 1-866-531-2600
Ontario Addiction Treatment Centres: 1-905-773-3884
Continue Learning
Please view the following additional resources to continue learning about some of the topics discussed in this resource. If you have any suggestions, concerns or general comments, feel free to contact me as well!
