Drug alert issued for Medicine Hat

They are advising users to use caution, carry a naloxone kit, take smaller batches and not use drugs alone.

Diane MacNaughton, chair of the Friends of Medicare says the overdose crisis shows just how potent drugs have become and people in many instances are now playing Russian roulette.

” It used to be that you could take drugs and stay alive, and go into treatment over, and over again, until you reached the point where you made the decision to get well,” she said.

“But now it is like you use drugs, and then it is over because it is drug poising. You don’t get that chance anymore to kick the habit,” she said.

She said the drugs have become so potent, that users have needed more naloxone in order to reverse the overdose.

“It used to take one or two vials of naloxone to save you, now it takes like five or seven to save you,” she said.

On Tuesday, B.C announced they will be moving towards the decriminalization of the small scale possession of drugs, meaning people 18-years and older will be allowed to possess up to 2.5 grams of opioids, cocaine, methamphetamine and MDMA in B.C. It’s a move that MacNaughton applauds and believes is a good first step.

“I think it is important for people to be able to take a little bit of it so they can stay alive,” she said.

“I think we need to recognize that people who use these particular substances need to get to a particular place to make their own decisions to get off drugs. Because you have to be in the right place to stop being addicted to something. No matter what it is,” she said.

by Tiffany Goodwein

Drug alert issued for Medicine Hat

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