2023-08-21 19:27:39
Alberta health professionals facilitate access to treatment information for opioid use disorder for people evacuated from the Northwest Territories due to the fires. They created flyers listing healthcare facilities and opioid agonist treatment programs available in Calgary and Edmonton.
Going off medication for even a day causes withdrawal symptoms, while going several days without medication increases the risk of relapse even for stable patients, says health specialist Dr Kate Colizza. addiction medicine in Calgary.
It’s not the kind of medicine that many people can plan ahead or have on hand.
she says, adding that most medications, including Suboxone, methadone and Kadian require a daily refill at the pharmacy.
Since last week, thousands of people have fled Yellowknife and surrounding communities, filling evacuation centers in Calgary, Edmonton and surrounding areas.
Dr. Kate Colizza and her colleagues began gathering information for the flyers as soon as they learned that evacuees would be arriving in Alberta. The objective is to facilitate access to care for people who do not have a health insurance plan in Alberta and whose doctors do not have access to their medical records.
Dr. Kate Colizza says she also contacted doctors in the NWT. to determine how many people in the area have ever used opioid agonist treatment programs, to find out what the demand would be in Alberta’s reception and evacuation centers. But in the chaos of fires and evacuations, that information is not yet available.
According to the co-founder of Moms Stop the HarmPetra Schulz, the group has found someone to translate the information into Cree and are still looking for a Dene language translator to make it more accessible to people whose first language is not English.
In stressful situations, we turn to what makes us feel better
says Petra Schulz. There is a great risk that even people who have not used substances [depuis longtemps] start doing it again.
Forest fires and other disasters caused by climate change could also disrupt street drug supply chains, Petra Schulz thinks. According to her, the trend will be that seen at the height of the restrictions imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, namely increased toxicity of street drugs and more deaths.
Preventing the drug poisoning crisis is political
says Petra Schulz. We know what to do and the solutions are simple.
She echoes her own calls and those of other advocates for a regulated and safe supply in Alberta and across Canada, so that people can have known substances, in known amounts, from known sources
.
With information from Brishti Basu.
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