National Drug Overdose Day is very important to us here at DATAC as we see every day how the opioid crisis has impacted the country. DATAC deals so closely with so many who work in the rehabilitation and harm reduction spaces and it has been so hard to see the statistics for overdose deaths go up over the last three years. Sadly, COVID made a very negative, and noticeable impact on those numbers. Currently opioids are the greatest cause of overdose deaths in Canada, with a 96% increase in apparent opioid overdose deaths between April 2020 – March 2021, (7,362 deaths) and April 2019 – March 2020 (3,747 deaths). You can find more statistics about that here.
These harsh statistics show us very clearly that there is no denying that Canada is in the midst of an opioid crisis, one that affects all Canadians. Although some provinces are affected to greater degrees, all provinces have seen the increase in overdoses. It is important for Canadian’s to understand that anyone could be affected, someone they know and love, or someone they work with. This is why it is so important for as many people as possible to gain the knowledge for what to do in an overdose situation, and have access to Naloxone.
TAKE OUR FREE OPIOID AWARENESS TRAINING COURSE HERE!
The government has responded to this crisis with many more resources available for Canadians, such as here, to help them access help and information to combat this situation. As well as information Canada also spearheaded a free Naloxone programme, making this life saving, overdose reversing drug available for free at drug stores and from health units across the country. This means that every Canadian is able to obtain Naloxone and carry it in their car, or in their purse in case they are ever to come into contact with someone in an overdose state. This gives any of us, all of us, the power to save a life.
A big part of being able to use Naloxone is having the knowledge for how to recognize an opioid overdose as well as how to administer the drug to save a life. Here is where DATAC is going to try to do our part. Starting today we are offering a FREE course to give Canadians the power of knowledge. With our Opioid Overdose Awareness Training you will learn about opioids and how they work, how to recognize an opioid overdose, and when to use Naloxone.
By providing this course we are hoping to do our small part to aid our country in overcoming this crisis and give people the tools they need to be able to confidently recognize an opioid overdose, use their Naloxone and hopefully, save a life.
