Dozens march in Halifax for International Overdose Awareness Day

About 65 people participated in a march Friday in Halifax to mark International Overdose Awareness Day.

They started marching from Mainline Needle Exchange, near Gottingen and Cornwallis streets, to Halifax City Hall at about 11:30 a.m.

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In a circle in Grand Parade, participants shouted out the names of people who died due to overdosing.

They also had three moments of silence.

“One for those lives that have been lost to an overdose, one for their family and loved ones, and the third to plead for better policies and programs to mitigate the risks for people who use drugs,” said Cindy MacIsaac, the executive director of Direction 180, a community-based opiate treatment program.

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She said there have been recent successes for the cause, including expanding access to opiate treatment in the province, but there is more that needs to done.

According to MacIsaac, the decriminalization of drugs is worth being discussed in Canada.

She said she and others are working on creating an overdose prevention site in the community, which would involve the Mainline Needle Exchange, Direction 180, and other groups.

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The aim is to open it at 2151 Gottingen St., and the site would also help users connect with other services.

“There are a lot more changes that need to happen in the health system and mental health system because they’re intertwined,” said marcher Julien Carette.

Tweet This Click to share quote on Twitter: "There are a lot more changes that need to happen in the health system and mental health system because they're intertwined," said marcher Julien Carette.

He said someone he cared about died due to a drug overdose.

Roy Bussey, another marcher, said there aren’t enough places for drug addicts to go in Halifax to get help.

MacIsaac said this was the fifth year of the event.

“Like our shirts say, ‘Nice people use drugs.’ If you use drugs that doesn’t make you amoral, it doesn’t make you a criminal,” she said. “I’m putting it out there to have compassion, respect, and dignity for people who use drugs.”