Just as Nova Scotia tries its best to contain COVID, and Canada’s largest mass killing in recent history leaves 22 people dead from an unimaginable act of violence, there are other tragedies that have been swept under the rug amid the chaos. Canada’s overdose crisis continues to claim the lives of our neighbours and friends—on […]
Opioid
Posted inNews + Opinion
The methadone method
In 2014, John spent the Christmas holidays alone, curled up in a ball on his bed. He’d run through his monthly opioid prescription in the first 12 days of December—like he’d done every month for the last two years of his life—and had to wait until the new year before he could go back to […]
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Dalhousie nursing students are learning about Naloxone
T his year during orientation week, some Dalhousie nursing students, faculty and staff will be learning about Naloxone—a temporary antidote to opioid overdose—in a special workshop and training on September 5. The program is led by Martha Paynter and Brianna Richardson, both PhD nursing students at Dalhousie, in partnership with Direction 180—a community-based methadone clinic […]
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Q&A with Leah Genge a family physician on the front-line of Nova Scotia’s addiction services
With news that HaliFIX Overdose Prevention Society has gotten a federal exemption to set up their Overdose Prevention Site in the basement of 2164 Gottingen Street—Below Direction 180, where Leah Genge is the physician—Genge shares some insight on what an OPS actually is, who it serves and why it’s important. The Coast: What is an […]
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HaliFIX moves ahead on Halifax’s first overdose prevention site
HaliFIX—a group of activists, academics, former addicts and community leaders committed to bringing the first overdose prevention site to Halifax—is moving forward in lieu of the province’s immediate support. The GoFundMe launched last week has already raised $2,700. Matthew Bonn, 28, a former addict who volunteers for HaliFIX, says Halifax is more than ready for […]
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Province announce over $1 million in new funding to combat fentanyl
The provincial government is putting an extra $1 million towards trying to prevent a fentanyl-fuelled opioid crisis in Nova Scotia. In a press release sent out Friday, the Department of Health and Wellness announced details of the increased spending, including $564,000 for expanding access to the overdose-countering naloxone drug kits to pharmacies, police and health care organizations […]
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Five things we can do right now to help Nova Scotians who use opioids
[Image-1] The opioid crisis we hear about in the news has not escaped Nova Scotia. The chief public health officer recently reported that 49 Nova Scotians—between one and two per week—died from opioid overdoses in the first eight months of 2016. Around 11 people each day are taken to provincial emergency departments for opioid overdose. Effective […]