Plan B Forum

On Monday, Ron McKinnon, the Liberal MP for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, tabled the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act in the House of Commons. If passed, the bill would mean that people who call 911 to report an overdose cannot be charged with drug possession offences related to the incident.

“This means that people can take action without fear of penalty,” Mr. McKinnon said while introducing the legislation. “Hopefully, they’ll pick up the phone and save someone’s son or daughter. I hope all parliamentarians will back this bill.”

The proposed legislation comes as Canada grapples with an increase in deaths from illicit drug overdoses, in part attributed to the emergence of fentanyl in the black market. British Columbia had 465 illicit drug overdose deaths last year – a 27-per-cent increase from 2014 – and the powerful synthetic opioid was detected in nearly one-third of them.

The exemption would apply to anyone who is at the scene upon the arrival of medical personnel or law enforcement assistance. It would not apply to offences such as trafficking or driving while impaired.

A 2012 report by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council found that, of 450 past and current recreational drug users surveyed, 46 per cent would either call 911 and leave the victim or not call 911 at all. Of those people, 58 per cent said the criminal justice system was the barrier. Other fears included breaching probation and losing custody of children.

The survey asked people what happened the most recent time they had witnessed an overdose. The report said 911 was called just 46 per cent of the time.

The proposed legislation comes two years after the House Standing Committee on Health recommended an amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow Good Samaritan laws.

Michael Parkinson, a co-ordinator of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and a co-author of the 2012 report, said fear of criminal prosecution has been a “clear barrier” in reporting illicit drug overdoses, adding that the legislation, if passed, will save lives.

Scooter wrote:After moving quickly to approve a second supevised injection site in Vancouver, a government MP has tabled a bill to encourage people to call 911 during drug overdoses without fear of criminal prosecution:

On Monday, Ron McKinnon, the Liberal MP for Coquitlam-Port Coquitlam, tabled the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act in the House of Commons. If passed, the bill would mean that people who call 911 to report an overdose cannot be charged with drug possession offences related to the incident.

“This means that people can take action without fear of penalty,” Mr. McKinnon said while introducing the legislation. “Hopefully, they’ll pick up the phone and save someone’s son or daughter. I hope all parliamentarians will back this bill.”

The proposed legislation comes as Canada grapples with an increase in deaths from illicit drug overdoses, in part attributed to the emergence of fentanyl in the black market. British Columbia had 465 illicit drug overdose deaths last year – a 27-per-cent increase from 2014 – and the powerful synthetic opioid was detected in nearly one-third of them.

The exemption would apply to anyone who is at the scene upon the arrival of medical personnel or law enforcement assistance. It would not apply to offences such as trafficking or driving while impaired.

Why this is a necessary and common sense step:

A 2012 report by the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council found that, of 450 past and current recreational drug users surveyed, 46 per cent would either call 911 and leave the victim or not call 911 at all. Of those people, 58 per cent said the criminal justice system was the barrier. Other fears included breaching probation and losing custody of children.

The survey asked people what happened the most recent time they had witnessed an overdose. The report said 911 was called just 46 per cent of the time.

The proposed legislation comes two years after the House Standing Committee on Health recommended an amendment to the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act to allow Good Samaritan laws.

Michael Parkinson, a co-ordinator of the Waterloo Region Crime Prevention Council and a co-author of the 2012 report, said fear of criminal prosecution has been a “clear barrier” in reporting illicit drug overdoses, adding that the legislation, if passed, will save lives.

New twist in addiction crisis: Deadly painkiller impostors

Associated Press
By ANDREW WELSH-HUGGINS


This undated photo provided by the Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office shows fentanyl pills. Authorities say they've arrested Ryan Gaston, a man in a Cleveland suburb after seizing more than 900 fentanyl pills marked liked tablets of the less-potent opiate oxycodone. The Cuyahoga County medical examiner said that lookalike pills were likely to blame for some of the county's 19 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in January 2016. (Cuyahoga County Medical Examiner’s Office via AP)

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — Authorities are sounding the alarm about a new and deadly twist in the country's drug-addiction crisis in the form of a potent painkiller disguised as other medications.

Tennessee officials say they've seen two dozen cases in recent months of pills marked as the less potent opiates oxycodone or Percocet that turned out to contain fentanyl, a far more powerful drug. One official likened the danger to users playing Russian roulette each time they buy a pill on the street.

In San Francisco, the health department blamed several overdoses last summer on lookalike Xanax containing fentanyl, while Canada has issued warnings about multiple recent cases of lookalike oxycodone pills containing fentanyl.

And in suburban Cleveland, federal agents arrested a man this month after seizing more than 900 fentanyl pills marked like oxycodone tablets.

"These pills are truly a fatal overdose waiting to happen," said Carole Rendon, acting U.S. attorney in Cleveland.

Because fentanyl is cheap to manufacture illicitly, dealers see a chance to make more money by disguising it as oxycodone, which typically can sell for more, she said.

Lookalike pills were likely to blame for some of the county's 19 fentanyl-related overdose deaths in January alone, said Dr. Thomas Gilson, the Cuyahoga County medical examiner.

"People might otherwise say, 'I know I can abuse this much of oxycodone,' and they may be in for a really, really bad surprise when they find out that's fentanyl and not oxycodone," said Gilson.

The drug, typically used for treatment of chronic pain in end-stage cancer patients, is 25 to 40 times more powerful than heroin. Properly prescribed, it's often applied through a skin patch. Fentanyl produced for the illegal street market comes from Mexico, while chemically similar components have been traced to China, according to the U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration.

In a second Ohio indictment, federal authorities have charged a man with obtaining fentanyl from China that killed an addict to whom it was sold in Akron.

The DEA says fentanyl-related overdoses killed more than 700 people nationwide between late 2013 and early 2015.

Mimicry of other drugs is one way fentanyl is now being illicitly marketed, the agency said.

"The fact that fentanyl has been found in this form should hopefully make people nervous that do abuse these types of opiate pills, that they could be getting their hands on something even more lethal," said DEA spokesman Rich Isaacson.

China announced in October it would regulate the sale and distribution of 116 chemical compounds used in the production of synthetic drugs, including acetyl-fentanyl.

The problem of lookalike fentanyl comes as the country struggles to contain a drug overdose epidemic that began with illegal use of prescription painkillers and developed into a heroin crisis.

Ohio experienced 502 fentanyl-related deaths in 2014, up from 84 the year before. In all, 2,482 people in Ohio died from accidental overdoses in 2014, an 18 percent increase over the previous year.

Nationally, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says drug overdoses rose again in 2014, driven by surges in deaths from heroin and prescription painkillers. Overdose deaths in the U.S. surpassed 47,000 — up 7 percent from the previous year.

Heroin deaths also continued to climb, by 28 percent to about 10,500.

Despite these statistics and the danger of lookalike pills, addicts aren't always deterred, said Rendon, the acting U.S. attorney.

"When there is an overdose death, users do tend to flock to that drug dealer, because they think that he or she must have incredibly potent — either heroin or fentanyl or a combination thereof," she said.

Statement from the Minister of Health - Health Canada Authorizes Three New Supervised Consumption Sites in Toronto

OTTAWA, June 2, 2017 /CNW/ - Our government remains committed to combatting the current overdose epidemic and to taking swift action that will help save the lives of Canadians. Responding to this crisis requires a whole-of-society approach. No single action is going to put an end to the mounting number of overdoses occurring across the country, and it is crucial that we work together and continue to explore new ways to help us reverse the course of this crisis.

Today, Health Canada granted the necessary exemptions from the Controlled Drugs and Substances Act for the operation of three new supervised consumption sites in Toronto. The sites are planned to be located at Toronto Public Health's The Works, the Queen West-Central Toronto Community Health Centre, and the South Riverdale Community Health Centre.

International and Canadian evidence demonstrates that, when properly established and maintained, supervised consumption sites save lives without increasing drug use or crime in the surrounding area. The evidence also shows that they decrease infections and the transmission of communicable disease, and can also decrease the use of emergency departments, as well as hospital admissions related to injection drug use.

Bill C-37, which received Royal Assent on May 18, 2017, streamlines the application process for supervised consumption sites, without compromising the health and safety of clients, staff, or the surrounding community. This reduces the information burden on applicants and speeds up both the application and renewal processes. Applicants can now be assured that the process will not cause any unreasonable burden or delay.

Our Government's approach to this crisis continues to be comprehensive, collaborative, compassionate, grounded in evidence, and firmly dedicated to saving lives and protecting the health and safety of Canadians.

The Honourable Jane Philpott, P.C., M.P.



SOURCE Health Canada


For further information: Andrew MacKendrick, Office of Jane Philpott, Minister of Health, 613-957-0200; Media Relations: Health Canada, 613-957-2983; Public Inquiries: 613-957-2991, 1-866 225-0709