A spike in reported overdoses late last week has prompted another drug poisoning alert for the Peterborough, Ont., area.
Peterborough Public Health says on May 3, its early warning surveillance system reported eight drug-related overdoses that required either a visit to an emergency department or a response call by paramedics. The health unit serves Peterborough, Peterborough County, Curve Lake First Nation and Hiawatha First Nation.
The health unit says two substances — either light yellow and pink or light green — are being sold as the street-drug “down.”
The substances have tested positive for benzos and fentanyl. They are also suspected to contain bromazolam, a derivative of benzodiazepine, which is a powerful sedative that is not approved for medical use in Canada.
Health officials warn the drug can have serious adverse effects, such as death, if taken with other opioids.
The health unit cautions that naloxone cannot reverse the effects of sedatives but it can help.
The alert comes after the health unit issued a drug-checking alert on May 3 for the substance.
Overdose data
The health unit’s opioids harm data portal reports five suspected fatal drug overdoses in March; data for April is not yet available. There were four suspected drug poisoning deaths in February.
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There were 78 suspected fatal drug poisonings in 2023, 19 more than in 2022. From April 2023 to March 2024, there have been 69 deaths related to drug overdoses — an average of one every six days.
In March there were 48 drug poisonings reported that required a visit to an emergency department — up from 38 in February and 31 in January.
From April 2023 to March 2024, there were 443 visits to the emergency department for an overdose, with 59 per cent of the visits by men. Fifty-eight per cent of all visits were by people between the age of 25 and 44.
The health unit says 90 per cent of ED visits were to the Peterborough Regional Health Centre, with nearly half occurring between 4 p.m. and midnight.
Also in March, there were 33 calls to 911 for a drug overdose, nearly a repeat of the 35 reported a month earlier.
Nearly 16 per cent of 911 calls over the past year saw paramedics administer naloxone.
Precautions
The health unit advises that anyone who uses drugs, or knows someone who does, should take the following precautions:
- Drug checking: don’t use drugs alone — visit the Consumption Treatment Services (CTS) site at 220 Simcoe St. in Peterborough (open 9:30 a.m. to 9 p.m. daily). Test strips for fentanyl, benzos and xylazine are available.
- Harm reduction support: CTS site, call the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) virtual safe consumption line at 1-888-668-NORS (6677), or Krasman Centre at 1-888-777-0979 or online (services available 10 a.m. to midnight).
- Test a small amount of the drug before you use it.
- Avoid mixing drugs or sharing drugs, using damaged or modified pipes/needles.
- Ensure that emergency services can be contacted in the event of an overdose.
- Keep multiple naloxone kits on hand which help reverse the effects of an overdose. You can get a kit at most pharmacies and needle exchange sites. To find out how to access naloxone visit peterboroughpublichealth.ca and search for “opioids” or find the Accessing Naloxone pdf.
Use Peterborough Public Health’s Drug Reporting Tool to anonymously report overdose incidents and harms in the community.
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