The NWT government has begun holding sessions in communities about overdose prevention in response to the increase in drug poisoning deaths.
The Office of the Chief Public Health Officer said in a statement that the sessions aim to raise public awareness about the issue and equip residents so they can either prevent overdoses or respond to them.
While the sessions don’t replace trained addiction counsellors, a spokesperson said, they can help increase safety and decrease risk.
Sessions have already occurred or are scheduled to take place in Inuvik, Fort McPherson, Tsiigehtchic, Aklavik, Hay River, Kátł’odeeche First Nation, Fort Simpson, Fort Liard, Fort Providence and Yellowknife.
Visits are typically set up at the invitation of community or Indigenous governments, spokesperson Andrew Wind said in a statement.
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“Sadly, invitations are prompted by adverse events as a result of the toxic drug supply experienced by a community or region, or by an increasing concern of such events occurring,” he wrote.
Since Hay River recorded six drug poisoning deaths in 2022, mostly involving crack cocaine that people did not know was contaminated with fentanyl or carfentanil, the chief public health officer has repeatedly warned of contaminated drugs arriving in the territory.
The most recent warning featured the discovery of fentanyl analogue parafluorofentanyl, a substance developed in a lab that acts similarly to fentanyl, in illicit drugs seized in the NWT.
At the community sessions, Wind said, staff provide an overview of the crisis and discuss how to prevent and recognize overdoses, how to use naloxone, and how to call for help. Sessions touch on the physical harms associated with drug use, the stigma of drug use, and the related public safety risks.
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Wind said the sessions aim to increase residents’ confidence in recognizing the signs and symptoms of opioid-related poisoning or overdose, decrease the risk of an overdose happening, and help ensure people know how to respond to opioid-related overdoses should they have to.
The sessions use “start low, go slow, let someone know” messaging regarding drug use, and encourage people not to use alone, as chief public health officer Dr Kami Kandola has repeatedly advised.
Symptoms of a drug overdose can include:
- slow or absent breathing;
- blue lips and nails;
- a person not moving;
- choking;
- gurgling sounds or snoring;
- severe sleepiness;
- a person can’t be woken up; and
- cold and clammy skin.
Wind said one-on-one training has also been offered at some community outreach events and virtually with some pan-territorial groups.
Naloxone kits are available at all hospitals, health centres and pharmacies in the NWT.
The federal Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act protects people involved in an overdose from being charged for possession of a controlled substance. The legislation is designed to encourage people to call for help if they witness or experience an overdose.
