August 31 is International Overdose Awareness Day; a day to remember without stigma those that have died by overdose, a day to acknowledge the grief felt by family and friends left behind, and a day to increase awareness to prevent and hopefully one-day end deaths by overdose.
Overdose has a bigger impact on our communities than most realize. From those who use drugs and those that do not; from healthcare workers and first responders, from harm reduction workers to advocates, from family and friends to neighbors and colleagues; overdose reaches and impacts all facets of our society.
The theme for the 2024 campaign is “Together we can”, which highlights the importance and strength of working together to prevent and hopefully one day end all overdoses. Individual actions add up, but by combining all of the different efforts from the many organizations, leaders and activists; communities are stronger and can move the way ahead much faster.
Overdoses can happen for many different reasons. Some may be intentional and others by accident. Some may involve illicit drugs and some may involve prescribed medications. Overdose is a complex issue, which is impacted by stigma, discrimination and a lot of misunderstanding about drug use and the individuals involved.
Overdose is preventable and there are many evidence-based strategies and tools that can help prevent overdose. Concerning the opioid crisis in Canada, Naloxone or Narcan is one of the evidence-based strategies that can be used to prevent overdose. Naloxone works to temporarily reverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Anyone can get a naloxone kit to keep with them if they ever come across someone experiencing an overdose. These kits can be obtained at many local pharmacies free of charge. Ask the pharmacist about this possibility. For more information regarding this evidence-based prevention tool and how/where to obtain a kit, check out Health Canada’s website.
For more information on the campaign, please take a look at the International Overdose Awareness Day website. Here, you will find all kinds of information on the issue, including the basic information on overdose, how to prevent overdoses, and how you can participate in the campaign.
Article written by: Nathaniel Smith, Health Promotion Specialist at CFB Borden.
