Latest news with #Naloxone
Glasgow Times
a day ago
- Glasgow Times
Peter Krykant remembered as a 'lifesaver' at funeral
Peter, who became a public figure after he set up an unofficial drugs consumption room in Glasgow in 2020, died suddenly last month at the age of 48. At his funeral at Falkirk Crematorium yesterday (July 21) the Daily Record reports celebrant John Fox said: "The tragedy is that Peter cared so much about the cause of safe consumption and harm reduction to improve the lives and experiences of people who use drugs. "Yet he was not able to address his own mental and physical health and to find his way out of addiction and back to the safe stability of his loving family and friends.' READ NEXT: Family of Kory McCrimmon to meet First Minister in bid to tackle youth knife crime (Image: Mark F Gibson) He was also praised by MSP Paul Sweeney who said: "Peter's death is a great tragedy to all those who knew and loved him. He undoubtedly saved lives and his legacy is evident." Peter set up the consumption room, which operated in 2020 and 2021, in a converted van in Glasgow city centre. He used crowdfunding and his own money in an effort to highlight the need for a safe space for drug users to inject. The van was modelled on a similar operation Peter, who also battled addiction, visited in Copenhagen and had sterile injecting kits, swabs and Naloxone, as well as a defibrillator. The Glasgow Times previously reported Peter was found dead after police were called to Graham Avenue in Larbert on Monday, June 9 following a report of concern for a person.
Hamilton Spectator
2 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
New fentanyl-related drugs discovered in Yellowknife wastewater
Health officials are advising that two fentanyl-related drugs have been discovered in Yellowknife wastewater for the first time. A notice from the Office of the Chief Public Health Officer details the two new drugs which are often found cut with fentanyl. 'This is the first time these substances have been detected anywhere in the NWT. Both substances can cause harmful effects in humans based on potency,' said NWT Health and Social Services Authority communications manager Andrew Wind on July 21. 'Neither can be detected with a fentanyl test strip. One of the substances discovered is isotonitazene, an experimental opioid which was synthesized in the 1950s but never put into medical use as it was considered too unstable compared to other opioids. While they cannot be detected with a fentanyl test strip, an overdose can be countered with Naloxone. In April 2025, Fort Smith RCMP reported three deaths related to isotonitazene. The other substance, Xylazine, is a veterinary tranquilizer which is often cut with opioids. It is not an opioid itself, and an overdose cannot be countered with Naloxone, nor will it show up on a fentanyl test strip. Deaths by overdose due to fentanyl cut with Xylazine have been popping up since 2024. The drug is typically found to make fentanyl overdoses worse and limit the ability of Naloxone to counter the effects. Skin lesions have also been seen on parts of the body where the drug is injected. There are no visual cues fentanyl could be mixed with either substance, nor do they have any smell or taste. 'While Naloxone, an opioid-reversing agent, will not stop effects of Xylazine, it should still be used as it will reverse the effects when opioids are also consumed,' said Wind. 'It is important to know that Xylazine may cause sedation that will last even after Naloxone has restored normal breathing. Additional doses may not be required but emergency responders (9-1-1) should still be called to help. 'We cannot tell how these drugs are appearing on the street just from information gathered from wastewater. They are most commonly used as additives to alter illegal opioids, but users of all drugs are urged to take extra precaution,' Wind added. In light of this development, residents should be on the lookout for the signs of an overdose and call 9-1-1 or their local health centre if they suspect they are witnessing one. Signs include difficulty walking, talking or staying awake; dizziness and confusion; very small pupils; unresponsiveness (unable to wake up, even when shaken or shouted at); signs of hypoxia (bluish skin); slow, weak or no breathing; blue, purple or grey lips or nails; cold and clammy skin and choking, gurgling or snoring sounds. Officials are also reminding residents that the Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act protects people involved in an overdose from being charged with possession of a controlled substance — this is to encourage users to come forward in an emergency to get the medical help needed to stay alive. Wastewater samples in Yellowknife have been monitored for illegal substances since July 2024. Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Hamilton Spectator
4 days ago
- Health
- Hamilton Spectator
Ontario ordered five Toronto safe injection sites to close. Here's what's been happening on the streets since then
Abel Agum and Resty Nasasira are walking on Sherbourne Street with a trolley full of supplies — sterile needles, pipes, tourniquets, snacks and water bottles, as well as a waste bin to collect used paraphernalia. As the Street Health outreach workers walk the back alleys and laneways near Sherbourne and Dundas streets, looking for people in distress, Naloxone kits hang on rusted chain-link fences like Christmas ornaments. They're placed there by the workers, but also community members looking out for each other; typically, they're all gone by the next day. The neighbourhood has long seen one of the highest rates of opioid overdose calls in the city, but the recent closure of four supervised consumption sites in the city — including nearby Regent Park and The Works, operated by Toronto Public Health — has made the situation more dire. Site directors are seeing more clients, from different parts of the city, giving out more supplies, and responding to more public overdoses compared to when four sites closed on April 1. The city's drop-in centres, meanwhile, are seeing a 'staggering' increase in overdoses, an indication that more people are choosing to use outside of the remaining sites, they say. On Wednesday, the Toronto Drop-In Network said there were eight overdoses in member drop-in centres in March. In April, that increased to 14. May saw 22 overdoses, while 31 were recorded in June, a 288 per cent increase since March. Of those overdoses, four were fatal. 'When supervised consumption sites closed ... we knew that the use would continue, but it would happen in the community, which is what these numbers are showing,' said Toronto Drop-In Network manager Melanie Joy. Supervised consumption sites allow clients to use drugs under medical supervision in case of overdoses. The province ordered 10 sites across Ontario, including five in Toronto, to close if they were located within 200 metres of schools or licensed daycares. One site, in Kensington Market, remained open because of an injunction granted as part of an ongoing court challenge. Abel Agum, right, and Resty Nasasira, members of the Street Health outreach team, pick up debris and drug paraphernalia during one of their neighbourhood patrols. Those sites were allowed to transition to Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hubs, which provide health-care services, but are prohibited from allowing drug use on site, distributing sterile needles or offering safer prescription opioids, such as methadone or hydromorphone. The drop-in centre overdose numbers are from only 10 sites reporting out of more than 50 member organizations and probably only 'a small snapshot' of what they're seeing, Joy added. Drop-in centres support people who are homeless or precariously housed with meals, clothing and other services to meet basic needs, but most aren't open overnight. Street Health created new positions for outreach workers like Agum and Nasasira in May to respond to the greater need they're seeing on the streets. In recent months, Agum said he's finding more discarded paraphernalia and people in distress. 'Two years ago you'd hardly find needles, to be honest,' he said. 'What you'd find mostly is pipes … Now you're seeing a lot more people passed out outside.' Aaron Sherman, a client at Street Health near Sherbourne and Dundas, said it's been harder for him to obtain supplies and he's noticed more people reusing needles since supervised consumption sites closed in Toronto. During a recent walk in the neighbourhood, Street Health's rubbish bin is full to the brim with used needles, pipes and discarded condoms within two hours. Sometimes people try to hide them — burying them in the dirt or throwing them into sewer grates. Street Health, a harm reduction agency which still operates a privately funded supervised consumption site, says May and June were its busiest months since 2023, according to Kelly White, manager of harm reduction programs. 'It feels constant that folks are running to the front desk and saying we need help,' White said. 'As soon as those sites closed, the overdoses in public have shot up. 'Our existing services are really burdened. The nurses are seeing a huge increase in volume of patients.' She estimated they're handing out about 400 to 500 sterile crack kits a day — about double compared to what they were distributing before sites closed. But some people are still having a harder time accessing supplies. Community member Aaron Sherman, who uses crack cocaine and would previously go to the now-closed supervised consumption site at Regent Park, said he's regularly seeing people who relied on former sites reuse their needles. 'I find that I'm using my stuff longer … I've seen people pick up dirty needles off the ground because they can't get a (sterile) needle,' he said. Between April 1 and July 17, Street Health staff responded to 15 public overdoses nearby, whereas they would usually respond to a handful in that same window of time. Visits to the site in April 2025 were 82 per cent higher compared to April 2024 and 53 per cent higher in May year-over-year. During a recent visit by the Star, Street Health nurses Isabel Johnston and Emilie Frenette looked out the window and noticed a man slumped on the sidewalk. They rushed out the door, checked his vitals and gave him a shot of Naloxone before paramedics arrived. It wasn't long before the man was back on his feet. Frenette said these occurrences are increasing in frequency, leading to more intensive interventions than would be required in a supervised setting. She believes more people are choosing to use outside because the supervised site, with three booths, is much busier, sometimes leading to longer wait times. Clients also feel safer using in an area where they know workers will respond quickly if they overdose. 'There's only so much that we can do, and then we have to end up turning people away,' she said. 'And it feels horrible.' At the Kensington Market Overdose Prevention Site, visits are up about 35 per cent since April 1, according to staff, while the Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre has also seen higher intake at its existing supervised consumption site, according to executive director Angela Robertson, who did not have a precise number. Sarah Greig, director of substance abuse and mental health at Moss Park Consumption and Treatment Service, said they're seeing more clients than ever before. Alexander Milnes, a client at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, said while he laments the loss of the supervised consumption site at its Bathurst Street location, the new HART Hub is providing valuable health-care services. Parkdale Queen West closed its second supervised consumption site on Bathurst Street and converted the site into a Homeless and Addiction Recovery Treatment Hub, or HART Hub. Several community members outside the Parkdale Queen West site had mixed feelings on the HART Hub model. They said they regret the closure of the supervised consumption sites, and the friends they say they've lost as a result, but say the HART Hub at 168 Bathurst St. is still providing valuable services. Alexander Milnes, 48, says he was stable on methadone for 21 years before his mother and son died within a week in 2020, causing him to relapse and start using street opioids. Homeless by choice, he said he avoids hospitals because of the stigma that surrounds people who use drugs. Through Parkdale Queen's HART Hub, he said he's been able to connect with health care and a social worker, and is now on a housing list. 'The HART Hub has been great … I've got more done with them than I have with any other program or any other service in Toronto,' he said. Marijane Budd, a client at Parkdale Queen West Community Health Centre, said she worries what might happen to her and her friends if more supervised consumption sites close. Marijane Budd, who has been homeless on and off for about 30 years, had a prescription for fentanyl patches for pain management after being diagnosed with a brain tumour five years ago. When her prescription was cut off, she started using street fentanyl. She said the HART Hub model has helped her by connecting her with a dentist. But she says the gains she's made are offset by the friends she lost due to closure of Parkdale Queen West's supervised consumption site. In the last three months, she said seven of her friends who used the Queen and Bathurst consumption site have died. 'It affected them because they don't want to travel, or they don't have the TTC fare to get to this one,' she said. 'So they were using outside or in a bathroom.' She said she's grateful for the services that are currently on offer, but worries what might happen if opposition to supervised consumption sites causes more to close. 'I've got somewhere safe to go,' she said. 'But I'm gonna end up dying in an alley if they close.' Error! Sorry, there was an error processing your request. There was a problem with the recaptcha. Please try again. You may unsubscribe at any time. By signing up, you agree to our terms of use and privacy policy . This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google privacy policy and terms of service apply. Want more of the latest from us? Sign up for more at our newsletter page .
Toronto Star
4 days ago
- Health
- Toronto Star
Ontario ordered five Toronto safe injection sites to close. Here's what's been happening on the streets since then
Abel Agum and Resty Nasasira are walking on Sherbourne Street with a trolley full of supplies — sterile needles, pipes, tourniquets, snacks and water bottles, as well as a waste bin to collect used paraphernalia. As the Street Health outreach workers walk the back alleys and laneways near Sherbourne and Dundas streets, looking for people in distress, Naloxone kits hang on rusted chain-link fences like Christmas ornaments. They're placed there by the workers, but also community members looking out for each other; typically, they're all gone by the next day.
Time of India
5 days ago
- Time of India
ED raids 22 Punjab de-addictioncentres for illegal sale of drugs
NEW DELHI/BATHINDA: The Directorate of Enforcement (ED) on Friday conducted searches at 22 de-addiction centres across Punjab, including in Chandigarh, Barnala and Ludhiana, after its investigation revealed illegal sale of drugs by these centres. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now The agency also searched a premise in Mumbai linked to the accused. Dr Amit Bansal, who runs these 22 centres, is prime accused in the case, sources said. Bansal, against whom Punjab Police has registered multiple FIRs, is alleged to be engaged in illegal sale of drugs from his de-addiction centres. Privately-run drug de-addiction centres in Punjab are allowed to administer BNX (Buprenorphine/Naloxone) medicine to enrolled patients. These drugs are strictly meant for rehabilitation of addicts. Taken in excess, it is considered drug abuse. 'It was found that Bansal, through his de-addiction centres, misused his facility and was allegedly involved in illegal sale of these drugs,' sources said. The agency has also been investigating drug inspector Rupinder Kaur, who allegedly assisted Bansal in providing incorrect inspection reports related to pilferage of medicine from his hospitals. Kaur's premises were also searched, besides a pharmaceutical company manufacturing BNX. Bansal was, until some time ago, a major player in the de-addiction and rehabilitation business in Punjab. A native of Barnala town, around 175km from Chandigarh, he started his career by setting up a small-time scan centre and then established his first de-addiction centre under the name 'Manorog Kendra' in Barnala. Bansal first ran into trouble in 2022 when two employees of his Ludhiana centre were arrested during a Vigilance Bureau raid for deficiencies in Buprenorphine and Naloxone. Tired of too many ads? go ad free now Authorities had then recovered 4,000 Buprenorphine tablets from a Honda Activa registered in the centre's name. A case was registered in Mohali on Oct 5, 2022, but charges under NDPS Act were not added. Bansal was arrested in Mohali on Dec 31, after which all 22 centres came under scrutiny. He is currently on bail.
