By Liam Verster

Nasal naloxone pilot project to launch in Edmonton this summer

Jun 9, 2021 | 1:54 PM

The Alberta Government has announced plans to launch a pilot project that will see nasal naloxone kits distributed in Edmonton to help combat the opioid overdose epidemic.

Nasal naloxone is a mist form of the overdose-reversing drug. The spray is easier to administer, eliminates the risk of accidental needle stick injury and needle debris, and one bottle contains the equivalent of approximately five naloxone vials.

Jason Luan, the Associate Minister of Mental health and Addictions, says there were a few factors that went into choosing Edmonton as the site for the $1.5-million pilot project.

“The demand for naloxone kits in the Edmonton region, according to my briefings, is relatively higher than other parts of the province as we speak and the recent overdose deaths that occurred in the Edmonton region are also causing residents in this region a lot more concern of ‘what can we do?’,” says Luan.

“So, I think those two [reasons], plus the partners here, the police and service providers, are a lot more ready, they’ve already met and discussed and are ready to take action. So I think because of all those reasons we thought the pilot here is well grounded.”

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Luan adds that there is a sense of urgency in expanding overdose prevention measures, but they chose just one spot to pilot this project because the government wants the findings to be meaningful, tangible and manageable.

The nasal naloxone kits will initially be distributed through the George Spady Society starting June 15, with plans to expand to other sites and community partners and service providers in Edmonton in the near future.

In the first quarter of 2021, both Edmonton and Calgary recorded 109 opioid related deaths. In contrast, Grande Prairie saw 13 opioid overdose deaths in the first three months of the year.

However, on a per-100,000 person ratio, Grande Prairie had the highest opioid overdose death rate (68) followed by Lethbridge (63) and Medicine Hat (51), while Edmonton and Calgary had relatively lower figures (41 and 31 respectively).

Luan says data will be collected through this pilot project, which will run through to August 2022, and determine after that if it’s feasible to expand the use of nasal naloxone to other communities, including Grande Prairie.

“This is a new technology, a new tool in our toolbox, we wanted to pilot it in the Edmonton region with the hope that by the end of this pilot we’ll have first-hand knowledge, information, data, evaluation and recommendations come back to us so if we want to roll it out in the rest of the province, [we will know] what needs to happen. I look forward to this pilot, I look forward to the findings coming back to us.”

Along with announcing this new nasal naloxone pilot program, Luan also committed $2.1-million dollars over the next three years to Edmonton’s George Spady Society so they can expand their medical detox capacity to 35 beds.