Prevention is the key to curbing overdose-related deaths in Quebec: experts

Every day, at least one person dies from an overdose related to opioid or other drug use in Quebec. According to the Quebec association for drug user health promotion (AQPSUD), this problem must be confronted beforehand.

This is why on Wednesday, the AQPSUD will hold several visibility activities as part of the International Day of Awareness of Drug Overdoses. The objective is to encourage people to talk about the reality of overdoses around them in order to prevent new deaths from occurring.

"For the past few years, there has been a real opioid epidemic in Quebec. For the last two years, we have seen a sad score of one person per day in Quebec who dies from an overdose," says AQPSUD Operation Illumination director Sophie Sénécal. "It's a situation that is particularly worrisome in large cities like Quebec City, Montreal, Gatineau and Sherbrooke, but that we're seeing all over the province right now."

In order to bring its message to as many people as possible, the association is counting on its Operation Illumination, which aims to light up as many buildings as possible in purple this Wednesday night.

Even though it is working with a small team, the AQPSUD has already received confirmation of the participation of several municipalities and organizations.

The Montreal Ferris Wheel, the Olympic Stadium Tower and the Quartier des spectacles in Montreal will all be lit in purple, as will other facilities in Quebec City, Fermont, Rouyn-Noranda, Sherbrooke, Saint-Jérôme and more.

"Overdoses are everywhere. Sadly, people are starting to see it more and more in their daily lives," says Sénécal. "A few years ago, when we started working on International Overdose Awareness Day, it was a more marginal phenomenon. Now, almost everyone knows someone who has overdosed. What we're saying is that talking about overdoses could save lives."

OVERDOSES RISING

For the first quarter of the year, from January to March, the National Institute of Public Health (INSPQ) reported 116 deaths related to suspected opioid or other drug intoxication, an average of 39 deaths per month. For the same period in 2021, the average was 33 deaths per month.

The AQPSUD said several hypotheses could explain these figures, including the proliferation of poor-quality drugs on the market since the pandemic. The association also points out that many users develop an addiction to opioids after an injury.

"Unfortunately, we live in societies where we are very pushy on prescribing drugs, but very little on psychosocial support," says Sénécal. "There are many people who will develop addictions, but they will not have access to any support in that context."

Eventually, the association hopes to see a complete decriminalization of drugs in Canada in order to stop the "Russian roulette" that is going on right now because of the poor quality drugs on the street.

But until that happens, AQPSUD hopes to at least get to a point where drug or opioid use is no longer a taboo subject in the home.

"We must avoid that people who have an addiction find themselves using alone in total isolation because it is in these cases that deaths occur," warns Ms. Sénécal.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published in French on Aug. 27, 2022.