Montreal med students working to help those addicted to opioids
McGill University medical students are trying to help treat people who are addicted to opioids. They say many aren't equipped to handle the withdrawal.
ConsumAction is a student-run organization whose members were busy at work Sunday, tucked away in a university lounge-turned-headquarters in their fight against opioid addiction.
They spent the day assembling kits to help people coming off of opioids and dealing with withdrawal. Symptoms can be serious and include vomiting, muscle aches and diarrhea.
Each kit contains several items to help alleviate those symptoms, including ibuprofen, meal replacements, and electrolyte tablets, among other items.
"We decided to create these kits that will include all the necessary supplies to alleviate the symptoms these people will experience during withdrawal," said ConsumAction founder Felix David.
The team is mostly made up of med students across disciplines. They say the medical system doesn't go far enough to help people overcome their addiction.
"They had the medication for the withdrawal, but they didn't have for everything else that surrounds that," said med student Massimo Ieropoli, as he divided over-the-counter meds into smaller bottles.
The organization's co-president, Victoria Sebag, said the kits could also help people from relapsing as an escape from their withdrawal symptoms.
"They can have very significant symptoms, which also kind of increase the likelihood that people can go back to using drugs or relapse," she said. "So, we really want to assess those needs and let people know that there is comfort out there if they are to continue pursuing a life without drugs."
Montreal paramedics have been responding to more opioid-related overdoses in recent years.
In 2018, they reported 137 cases where paramedics administered Naloxone -- a medication used to reverse the effects of opioids. In 2021, there were 252.
ConsumAction volunteers are aiming to make 75 kits to be brought to local clinics with hopes of preventing the next relapse.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Cuban government apologizes to Montreal-area family after delivering wrong body
Cuba's foreign affairs minister has apologized to a Montreal-area family after they were sent the wrong body following the death of a loved one.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
Fair in Ontario, flurries in Labrador: Weather systems make for an erratic spring
"It's a bit of a complicated pattern; we've got a lot going on," said Jennifer Smith of the Meteorological Service of Canada in an interview with CTVNews.ca on Wednesday. "[As is] typical with weather, all of these things are related."
Boeing's financial woes continue, while families of crash victims urge U.S. to prosecute the company
Boeing said Wednesday that it lost US$355 million on falling revenue in the first quarter, another sign of the crisis gripping the aircraft manufacturer as it faces increasing scrutiny over the safety of its planes and accusations of shoddy work from a growing number of whistleblowers.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Northern Ont. lawyer who abandoned clients in child protection cases disbarred
A North Bay, Ont., lawyer who abandoned 15 clients – many of them child protection cases – has lost his licence to practise law.