How to save a life
Students learn what to do if they see a friend on opioids
Emily Dennis now knows exactly what to do if she sees a friend su ering an opioid overdose.
“I would call 911 right away. I certainly feel I should go get naloxone and keep it in my purse just in case,” said the Grade 12 student.
Emily joined dozens of other teens at École acadienne de Truro taking part in the Canada-wide Know More program on Dec. 13, which teaches students about the dangers of fentanyl and other opioids through interactive displays and discussions.
Students learned to spot the danger signs of an overdose, including blue lips and nails, weak or no breathing, along with noises like snoring, slurred speech, dizziness, confusion and tiredness. Naloxone is a quick-acting antidote that can be given by emergency services or members of the public and Nova Scotia pharmacies o er it free.
ey also discovered how easy it is to lace seemingly ordinary pills and other drugs with substances like fentanyl. Know More uses an on-screen quiz to spot a dangerous tablet. The questions were designed so most students would get them wrong, underlining how di cult it is to tell how dangerous any seemingly normal pill may be.
What makes fentanyl so dan- gerous is its potency – it is 100 times more powerful than morphine – and a dose the size of a grain of sand can kill a person. Other opioids, like heroin, are less dangerous but still highly addictive.
While some opioids are potentially lethal drugs like fentanyl, many others are common household painkillers such as codeine.
“I learned that opioids are everywhere. ey’re in your medicine cabinet. I didn’t even know you could overdose with certain things, like what we have in our drawers at home,” said Dennis.
Originally developed as a highpower painkiller, fentanyl can be legally prescribed by doctors, typically as patches to be worn on the skin. It can produce feelings of euphoria or a “high.”
Illegally-sold fentanyl can be injected, snorted, smoked or swallowed in a pill. Many people who overdose are often unaware there is fentanyl in other drugs they take, such as cocaine.
e Know More Campaign says more than 4,000 Canadians have died from opioid overdoses since 2017.
According to Health Canada, an average of 11 people per day died from opioid overdoses in 2017 but greater awareness about their effects can often prevent such deaths.
“It’s very scary and education is key in situations like this, because kids have to know what they’re getting involved in and the consequences of the choices that they are making,” said École acadienne vice-principal Lynne eriault. “I don’t think we can avoid drugs in our society. I think, if they know, then they can decide whether they want to go forward with their choice.”
Open communication between parents, students and teachers is another defence against Canada’s ongoing opioid crisis, in eriault’s view.
Students like Riley Leblanc are already speaking up, calling for doctors to “pay close attention,” when prescribing potentially addictive medications to patients.
“I think that drugs should be more carefully distributed,” said Leblanc, a Grade 9 student. “Some doctors just assume patients have something and give them the drug, not really knowing that they have it for sure.”
For further information call Nova Scotia’s Addiction Services at 902-424-8866, or at 1-866-340-6700. e Mental Health Crisis Line can be reached at 1-888-429-8167.
In an emergency, call 911 for immediate assistance.