City of Ottawa warns of toxic drug supply

Public health, paramedic, police and overdose prevention officials have issued a rare public alert to warn Ottawa residents about the risk of overdose “related to the toxicity of the unregulated drug supply” in the city.

Health and emergency response officials say the drugs xylazine, used by veterinarians for sedation, and benzodiazepines, are now being seen in Ottawa’s unregulated drug supply, as they have in other parts of the province. Not only do the drugs, when present with opioids, significantly increase the risk of overdose and other harms, but they do not respond to naloxone, the opioid overdose antidote which is often carried by first responders, people who use opioids and those who care for or work with them.

Article content

Article content

Still, health officials advise those responding to an overdose to use naloxone, if they have it, because it can counteract the effect of opioids. They also advise people to perform chest compressions, rescue breathing or CPR as needed and to stay with the person until emergency support arrives.

Benzodiazepines, which include Xanax, Ativan and Valium, are being mixed with opioids such as Fentanyl. They can cause people to become extremely sleepy, or to pass out. They can also cause dizziness, poor balance and poor movement control, slurred speech, memory loss, loss of consciousness or death.

Xylazine, which is not approved for human use, can cause severe skin lesions and ulcers, blurry vision, confusion, dizziness, drowsiness, difficulty moving, slurred speech and fatigue. It can also cause breathing to slow dramatically or stop, low blood pressure and a slower heart rate and death.

Those who use drugs are reminded to carry naloxone, not to use drugs alone — or to tell someone first and to have a safety plan. They are also encouraged to use one of the city’s four supervised consumption sites and to get their drugs checked before using, at the Sandy Hill Community Health Centre or Ottawa Inner City Health.

Article content

Other Ontario communities have also been sounding the alarm about toxic drug supplies leading to a spike in overdoses.

Belleville declared a state of emergency last week after at least 23 people overdosed in a period of days – 14 of them during a two-hour period last Tuesday alone.

Paul Morneau, operations commander with Ottawa Paramedic Service said paramedics have been seeing evidence of the toxic drug supply in the city.

“We are not seeing a Belleville-type situation, but in the last month or so we have been seeing the effects of the toxic drug supply.”

For more information: ottawa.ca/en/city-hall/city-news/newsroom/growing-concerns-around-toxicity-unregulated-drug-supply

Article content