Opioid overdoses: 5 steps for prevention
CBC News | Posted: June 18, 2014 9:00 AM | Last Updated: June 18, 2014
The Canadian Drug Policy Coalition has issued five key recommendations to prevent opioid overdoses:
- Make naloxone an over-the-counter drug and readily available to those who use opiates.
- Scale up education and training on how to prevent and respond to overdoses.
- Reduce the barriers to calling 911 during a drug overdose by implementing national Good Samaritan legislation.
- Implement appropriate guidelines for opioid prescriptions that do not limit access to needed pain medication or result in further discrimination against people who use drugs.
- Increase timely collection, analysis and dissemination of information on drug overdoses.