Fentanyl and Naloxone Info
Fentanyl is a strong medicine made from opioids (chemicals used to treat sudden and ongoing pain). Some people use it to get high or help with sleep. It is up to 100 times stronger than other opioids like morphine, heroin, or oxycodone. It is normally available in patches or lozenges. Drug dealers often sell fentanyl as fake oxycodone. Buyers may think they’re getting oxycodone, but they’re getting another opioid drug that has fentanyl and other substances in it.
On the street, these drugs have nicknames like:
- Green beans
- Beans
- Green apples
- Apples
- shady eighties
- eighties
- fake oxy
- greemies
- Fentanyl is addictive
- Fentanyl is about 100 times more toxic than morphine, heroin, or oxycodone
- Even small amounts can result in overdose.
- In 2014 alone, there were more than 100 deaths in Alberta associated with Fentanyl and
- 145 Fentanyl related deaths in Alberta in 2015
People addicted to fentanyl may have withdrawal symptoms when they quit, including:
- cravings
- sweating
- runny nose
- yawning
- restless sleep or trouble sleeping
- weakness
Naloxone is a medication that can reverse the effects of fentanyl and other opioid medication including extreme drowsiness, slowed breathing, or loss of consciousness. An opioid is sometimes called a narcotic.
Naloxone is used to treat a narcotic overdose in an emergency situation. This medicine should not be used in place of emergency medical care for an overdose.
Naloxone is also used to help diagnose whether a person has used an overdose of an opioid. This is normally injected into the muscle.
The Health Center is providing Naloxone take home training. If you would like to attend one of these trainings. Please contact Terri, Allyssa or Nikki at the Health Center to find out when the next training is taking place.
How can Naloxone help reduce the number of drug deaths?
Naloxone can play a major role in preventing deaths- especially if it can be administered to someone in overdose as early as possible. To maximize the impact of Naloxone on drug deaths, it is necessary to have Naloxone available at the scene of the overdose before specialist help arrives. This means that Naloxone has to be available to members of the community for emergency use.
Naloxone is extremely effective and can start working in minutes, depending on the dosage and potency of the drug taken. For more powerful opioids, such as fentanyl. Naloxone is not addictive and has few side effects
How can Naloxone help reduce the number of drugs deaths?
Naloxone blocks the effects of drugs made from opium or opioids. These include:
- heroin
- morphin
- oxycodone
- methadone
- fentanyl
- hydrocodone
- codeine
- hydromorphone
- buprenophin
If you’re concerned about your own, or someone else’s, misuse of fentanyl, or would simply like more information on drug use, contact:
O’Chiese NNADAP Terri @ 403-989-3900
All Visits and Calls are confidential
O’Chiese Health Centre will be having Take Home Naloxone Training available once per month for any community members interested.
