‘We’re losing people we love’: Frontline staff alarmed after seven suspected overdose deaths in Kingston, Ont.
Health officials in Kingston, Ont. are raising the alarm after an increase in suspected overdose-related deaths.
They say it’s part of a pattern, and something needs to be done to combat the growing trend.
On Thursday, Kingston, Frontenac, Lennox and Addington Public Health released a statement warning a toxic batch of illicit drugs is making the rounds in the city, and warned of a growing number of overdoses and deaths.
Justine McIsaac, the safe consumption site services coordinator with Kingston Community Health Centres, says their numbers show there have been seven suspected opioid related deaths in the last 13 days alone.
“We’re dealing with a very toxic drug supply in the community right now. We have had a staggering number of overdoses in the community,” McIsaac explains. “We’re responding to multiple on site a day.”
She says the numbers are increasing.
“You could compare this to April of last year and we did not have that many deaths in a month, let a lone a week and a bit,” McIsaac explains.
The drugs are believed to be cut with things like fentanyl, which experts say is up to 100 times stronger than morphine.
Public health is encouraging people to carry naloxone kits and say not to use alone.
“We’re losing people we love and care about,” says McIsaac. “People in this community are being ripped apart by grief and tragedy.”
Susan Stewart is the chair of the drug strategy advisory committee with KFL&A Public Health. She says opioid-related drugs overdoses and deaths have seen a dramatic rise since the start of the pandemic across the province.
“This is a silent epidemic,” she says. “We’ve had more people who have died from accidental opioid poisonings than we have had due to COVID.”
Stewart says the best way forward is a review of policies by all levels of government.
“Decriminalizing personal amounts of substances I think is an important step forward and would send a strong message to those in the community who use drugs that we know this is a health issue, not a criminal issue,” she says.
McIsaac agrees, and says policies are failing those who are most vulnerable.
“We’re losing young lives that deserve far more than what we have given to them.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'A beautiful soul': Funeral held for baby boy killed in wrong-way crash on Highway 401
A funeral was held on Wednesday for a three-month-old boy who died after being involved in a wrong-way crash on Highway 401 in Whitby last week.
Police handcuff man trying to enter Drake's Toronto mansion
Toronto police say a man was taken into custody outside Drake's Bridle Path mansion Wednesday afternoon after he tried to gain access to the residence.
Biden says he will stop sending bombs and artillery shells to Israel if they launch major invasion of Rafah
U.S. President Joe Biden said for the first time Wednesday he would halt shipments of American weapons to Israel, which he acknowledged have been used to kill civilians in Gaza, if Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu orders a major invasion of the city of Rafah.
U.S. presidential candidate RFK Jr. had a brain worm, has recovered, campaign says
Independent U.S. presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr. had a parasite in his brain more than a decade ago, but has fully recovered, his campaign said, after the New York Times reported about the ailment.
What is whooping cough and should Canadians be concerned as Europe declares outbreak?
There is currently a whooping cough epidemic in Europe, with 10 times as many cases compared to the previous two years. While an outbreak has not been declared nationwide in Canada, whooping cough is regularly detected in the country.
Pfizer agrees to settle more than 10K lawsuits over Zantac cancer risk: Bloomberg News
Pfizer has agreed to settle more than 10,000 lawsuits about cancer risks related to the now discontinued heartburn drug Zantac, Bloomberg News reported on Wednesday, citing people familiar with the deal.
Quebec premier defends new museum on Quebecois nation after Indigenous criticism
Quebec Premier Francois Legault is defending his comments about a new history museum after he was accused by a prominent First Nations group of trying to erase their history.
B.C. theatre to pay $55K to neurodivergent actor in discrimination case
British Columbia's human rights tribunal has awarded a neurodigergent actor, who was diagnosed with sensory and learning disorders, more than $55,000 after finding that a Kelowna theatre company discriminated against him because of his disabilities.
Who's responsible for regulating cannabis stores operating under the sovereignty banner?
It's not quite clear who is supposed to be regulating so-called sovereign cannabis stores or even ensure they're benefiting Indigenous communities.