Opioids

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Drug strategy group dealing with opioid crisis returns at public meeting in Port Hope

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HKLN drug strategy public meeting

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

The health unit says there were between one and four deaths in May. There were also close to 30 emergency room visits where a drug overdose was suspected. None of this counts for the police and ambulance calls. Those are some of the highest numbers we have seen since a year ago. As you will hear in this interview, Dane Record, the executive director of the Peterborough AIDs Resource Network, will tell you he is not surprised. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Opioids, Port Hope, Social Justice

Port Hope woman shares life experience of drug use and recovery, plus advocacy and activism

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Angela Smoke

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

Over the past few weeks, the opioid crisis emerged as a central topic of public debate. Advocates and supporters of people with addictions often urge politicians and bureaucrats to include consultations with people with lived experience. That term, lived experience, means different things to people. It is also a perspective that many don’t understand. What is it like to live with or be recovering from an addiction? Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Health, Opioids, Politics, Social Justice

Volunteers to launch overdose prevention site in Cobourg to support users, says organizer

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Tweak Easy Peterborough

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

In the act of defiance, a group of activists and community volunteers are setting up an overdose prevention site in Cobourg. It will consist of two tents. Starting March 24, it will be in a place where addicts can take illegal drugs that will be safe and support them, say organizers. At first, it is shocking to learn this is taking place. Yet, Missy McLean, one of the organizers, says this is an act of resistance. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, #Cobourg, Community, Drug crisis, Opioids, Social Justice

Health unit plays key role in tackling the opioid crisis in Northumberland

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drug addict

The show:

The full interview with bonus material:

The recent tragic death of Kory Trenouth brought into sharp focus the impact of the opioid crisis in Northumberland County. Then, last week, the Haliburton Kawartha Pine Ridge District Health Unit released an opioid alert warning illegal drug users about the possibility of overdosing or potential poisons in the drug supply. The first interview on today’s show hones in on the continuing opioid crisis in the county. As of July 5, there were 64 overdoses in Northumberland. Last year, the total was 152. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Health, Opioids, Social Justice

Responding to an overdose death: See the person, not just the problem, says advocate

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MIssy McLean

The interview for the Daily Wrap:

Just after midnight Thursday, a 36-year-old man was found in distress in the lobby of a local bank on King Street. Police officers discovered him and tried to help. Sadly, he died. Missy McLean is a director for Moms Stop The Harm. She is a local activist working hard to change local attitudes toward those who are addicted to drugs and their families. Continue Reading →

Filed under: Local News, Community, Health, Opioids, Social Justice

Cobourg police chief calls for all hands on deck to fight drug epidemic

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So, for our first show of 2020, it seemed like a good idea to revisit one of the more significant stories in Northumberland: the ongoing battle with drugs across the county. Following a number of key arrests over the past few months, plus a shocking announcement regarding a more deadly form of drug suspected to be in our region, it is appropriate to talk once more about the state of the opioid situation and some of the developing issues that have come forward since July when we began examining what was going on. Certainly, a lot has happened and there is a more vocal public debate taking place since then. Back in July, then Deputy Chief Paul Vandegraff sat in this same chair across from me and we talked about opioids. It was the first of a series of interviews done by Consider This around the emerging situation. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Opioids, Police

Task force on opioids to hold first meeting in September, says health unit official

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A task force led by the health unit involving local police, Northumberland Hills Hospital, and emergency services (fire and paramedics) will take place in September. It is being called the first step in addressing the opioid crisis in Northumberland County. There will also be an effort by a tri-county group tasked with formulating a drug strategy for the area to engage the community and front-line workers, addicts and families, to build a comprehensive response. Megan Deyman, the Coordinator of the Haliburton, Kawartha Lakes, Northumberland Drug Strategy, and Catherine MacDonald, substances and harm reduction coordinator at the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge Health Unit talk at length about these and other measures. But provincial cuts to the health unit and grants to the drug strategy group are hanging in the balance, threatening these and other initiatives to fight opioids in the community. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Health, Opioids

Green Wood Coalition reaches out, but also searching for answers to opioid crisis

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We have certainly talked to many different people over the past few weeks about Opioids in Northumberland. We have heard from a doctor, a mental health worker, law enforcement, two recovering addicts, and a politician. Their perspectives are provoking, the stories are compelling, and at times heartbreaking. But all have spoken their truth. And, we were given incredible insights into what is happening in the community around opioids from those with first-hand knowledge. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Community, Opioids

Caring in a crisis – hospital emergency and mental health leaders on opioids in Northumberland

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So far in the series on Opioids in Northumberland, we have heard from law enforcement and the role they play on the front lines. Today, we are about to hear more from those in the field dealing with this issue directly. It would be hard to imagine anyone who sees the impact more than doctors and addiction counsellors. They experience first-hand the horrific consequences of opioid overdoses and addictions. And, while there may be some who they can pull back from the edge, there are also those who do not make it. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Health, Opioids

Two former addicts share stories of path to recovery from opioid and drug addiction

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It is one thing to hear from officials about opioids in Northumberland County. But it is quite another to hear from people who have walked through the darkness of opioid addiction. Today, my guests have undertaken that journey and continue to walk the path towards recovery and a life without drugs. Now, before you start creating an image in your mind about these people, they are not stereotypical. In fact, one is a prominent politician and the other a new Canadian. Continue Reading →

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Filed under: Consider This Northumberland, Health, Opioids