Battling the Sault's overdose issue

In a perfect world, Constable Sonny Spina would love to instruct residents to stop using opioids and have them listen. But he’s realistic and knows that would never happen, unfortunately.

“We’re not going to sit here, have the wool pulled over our eyes and think we’re going to magically stop everyone from consuming opioids, but we could do something to help save some lives,” he told SooToday.

Following a news release issued last Friday by the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service that brought to light an increase in area opioid drug overdoses, local agencies are coming together to host a town hall-style meeting that will educate the public on Naloxone kits – what they are, who should have them, where they can be acquired, and how to use them. Naloxone, a cost effective and fast-acting medication, is used to block the effects of opioids in the case of an overdose.

Included on the World Health Organization's List of Essential Medicines, Spina compared the importance of Naloxone kits to that of defibrillators in terms of life-saving necessities.

“We would like to bring that same level of comfort to these Naloxone kits for people living within that community or support networks for people who are living within that community where they’re using illicit drugs,” he said.

The Naloxone town hall meeting will take place on Monday, Apr. 3 at The Machine Shop at 6 p.m. and is open to the public. Panelists will include a former drug enforcement unit officer, area pharmacists, and Chair of the Drug Strategy Committee Desiree Beck. Following a set of formal presentations, agency experts will engage the audience to answer any questions and concerns.

“If there’s ever anything we can do to save lives, we’re going to do it. This one of those things we need to do,” Spina said.

He told us the Sault Ste. Marie Police Service and area EMS have responded to more than 50 overdose calls since the beginning of January. Spina suspects the actual number of overdoses is higher since it’s likely that not all incidents are reported to police or health officials.