Everything You Need to Know About Opioids

Youth and Opioids – What parents demand to know

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It is suspected that counterfeit drugs constitute in Ottawa have been involved in recent life-threatening overdoses. Ongoing toxicology laboratory testing is being conducted to ostend the contents of these drugs. Counterfeit pills can be manufactured to look near identical to prescription opioids (i.due east. Oxycontin, Percocet) and other medications.

What practise I need to know every bit a parent?

Naloxone

Overdose

Tips for Parents

Resources for Families

Opioid Give-and-take Sheet for Families (PDF)

What do I need to know as a parent?

You lot are your kid's best defence force confronting drug utilise. Here are some things to know and to make your teen(s) aware of:

Opioids

• Opioids are a family of drugs that have morphine-like furnishings such as slow heart rate, sighing, shallow breathing, extreme drowsiness,  or feeling like you might pass out. There are prescription opioids and illegally produced opioids. Opioids include drugs like heroin, morphine, fentanyl, methadone and codeine.
• All opioids (prescription and not-prescription) have a gamble of overdose.

Prescription Opioids

• Teens  oft recollect that prescription drugs are less harmful than street drugs because they are prescribed.
• Street drugs can also look like prescription medication (ex. Percocet or Oxycodone). Never have prescription drugs that have not been provided past physician or pharmacist.

Fentanyl and analogues

• Fentanyl is an opioid that is much more toxic than most other opioids. Fentanyl is usually prescribed in a patch form as a painkiller.  It is effectually 50 to 100 times more toxic than morphine. This makes the risk of accidental overdose much college.
• Potent and unsafe illegalfentanyl is turning up in many different drugs, oftentimes where youth don't look to find information technology. It can be plant in party drugs like cocaine and ecstasy /MDMA. These drugs are illegally produced, and there is no manner to know what is in it.
•  In Ottawa fentanyl has already been found as a pulverization and mixed with other drugs like heroin and cocaine. Fentanyl is as well existence pressed into pills and sold as things like 'oxycodone' (oxycontin, oxys, eighties) or other pills including speed and ecstasy/MDMA.
• A small amount of fentanyl can be fatal - as modest as 2 grains of salt
• Another illegal drug, Carfentanil, is even more toxic than illicit fentanyl and is circulating in Canada. It is well-nigh often cutting into other drugs, like heroin or cocaine

Naloxone

• Naloxone is a medication that cantemporarilyreverse the effects of an opioid overdose. Yous can get a take-domicile naloxone kit forat no costfrom pharmacies and other agencies in Ottawa.
• If you are worried, or suspect your kid is using, become a naloxone kit. Keep it fix in case of overdose. Friends or family of teens in Ontario who are worried tin can too get free naloxone from local pharmacies and be trained to use information technology.
• Naloxone is also available for free at many Ontario pharmacies to:
  • Any current opioid user  (prescription or illicit)
  • Any past opioid user (prescription and illicit) at risk of relapse or render to utilize
  • Whatsoever person using illicit drugs including non-opiates (cocaine, MDMA, crystal meth)
  • Family and friends of opiate and non-opiate drug users
  • Persons in a position to assist those at risk (service providers)

Overdose

An overdose is a medical emergency. If you doubtable or witnesses an overdose, phone call 9-i-1, fifty-fifty if naloxone has been administered.

Being able to chop-chop recognize the signs and symptoms of an overdose and having a naloxone kit available can save a life while waiting for paramedics to arrive.

• Larn how to prevent, recognize and respond to an overdose. Anyone who uses drugs can be at hazard for overdose.
• How to recognise an overdose:
  • An overdose from opioids, such as Fentanyl, volition have one or more of the following signs or symptoms:
    • Person is unresponsive or doesn't wake up easily
    • Body is limp
    • Breathing is slow or not present
    • Lips and nails are blue
    • Pare is common cold and clammy
    • Person is choking or throwing upwards
    • Person is making snoring or gurgling sounds
    • Pupils are tiny

Tips for parents

Prevent opioid use

Lock up all medications and bank check regularly: 14%  percent of Ottawa high school students used prescription drugs that weren't prescribed for them and ii-thirds got the drug from a parent, sibling or someone else they alive with. Watch for missing medication and render unused medications to your pharmacy or at a pharmacy participating in the Ontario Medication Render Program.

• If your child has an injury or pain issue, like wisdom teeth removal speak to your doctor, dentist or pharmacist about the risks of unlike pain medications, monitor their usage, and accept dorsum unused medication to the chemist's shop.
• Talk to your teen well-nigh opioids. See tips below.

Signs of opioid use

Watch for changes in your teens behavior and attitudes;

• Sudden change in mood or attitude
• Sudden decline in attendance or performance at schoolhouse
• Sudden resistance to discipline at abode or schoolhouse
•  Increased borrowing of money from parents or friends
• Heightened secrecy about actions or possessions

Tips on talking to your youth about drugs:

As a parent, you may find it difficult to talk to your child about drugs. Here are some tips to aid you lot have the conversation.

• Tell your child to call 911 if they believe someone is overdosing.  Many youth are afraid to call 911 for fear that the police volition charge them or that they will exist in trouble with their parents. The Adept Samaritan Drug Overdose Act says that they volition not be charged with drug possession when calling 911. Let them know that their safety and their friends' safety is what matters well-nigh.

• Respect that your child is an proficient in their ain culture. Invite them to teach you about their world. Praise positive behaviour, and evidence interest in your teen'south life. This will assist to make yous more than approachable when they are running into diffi­cult times and need someone to talk to.
• Remain informed. You tin use an external reference like social media, a newspaper article or Idiot box show near drugs to start a conversation with your teen.
• Inquire about what concerns, worries or questions that they have about 'what is happening'. Inquire questions, then heed. The best way to talk to youth well-nigh drug use is to mind to them.
• Ask them to teach you more most fentanyl and other drugs they know about. Invite them to tell you what they're hearing, seeing or take learned.
• Enquire your teen about the kinds of concerns and cautions youth are sharing with other youth well-nigh drugs and condom. Enquire them about what steps youth are taking to go along each other safe.
• Enquire them what it is similar to be talking to you about this.
• Speak from your heart. Focus on your heartfelt concerns for their safety and a deep regard for their health.
• Emphasize your deep caring, commitment to understand. Instead of 'setting them straight.'
• Be open, supportive and involved.
• Visit our Mental Health and Youth section for more information

More information on how to talk virtually drugs

• Drug Complimentary Kids Canada: Tips for Parents
• Health Canada: Talking with teenagers about drugs
• Salubrious Families BC: Tricky Conversations
• Parents' Lifelines of Eastern Ontario
• Parent Action on Drugs: Data for Parents
• Parenting in Ottawa & CHEO: Keeping strong bonds with teens while giving them infinite to grow

Caution: these videos comprise imaging and stories of overdose that may be upsetting to some.

Resources for Families

• Rideauwood Addiction and Family Services is a not-profit bureau serving individuals and family unit members who are or have been afflicted by addictions, substance abuse, problem gambling or related mental wellness issues. Contact your school or Rideauwood Intake: 613-724-4881.
• Maison Fraternité provides services to the francophone population who accept a substance use problem, including services for adults, adolescents, and specific programming for women.
• Dave Smith Youth Treatment Centre provides residential and customs-based agency dedicated to helping youth (13-21) overcome substance misuse.
• Youth Services Bureau of Ottawa provides youth and family counselling and crunch support, including walk-in clinics.
• Local Community Wellness and Resource Centres many programs and services for youth and families.
• The Wabano Center for Aboriginal Health provides comprehensive and culturally relevant services for Aboriginal (First Nation, Inuit and Métis) individuals, couples and families, including several programs for youth. These include "I Am Connected" is a holistic substance prevention programming for children and youth anile 10 to 24. The Centre as well delivers the "Wasa-Nabin Urban Youth Program," a one on one plan offered to At-Take a chance Youth age thirteen-xviii, and the "Wabano Way Youth Diversion Plan" which offers a culturally-sensitive prevention and intervention program that provides diversion from court.
• Parent Activeness on Drugs
• The Royal's Regional Opioid Intervention Service
• CHEO's YouthNet / RéseauAdo is a bilingual past youth for youth mental health promotion program at CHEO. YouthNet offers alternative support services for youth aged 13 to 20. YouthNet strives to reduce the stigma surrounding mental health and illness through prevention and intervention activities, teaching, research, and advocacy. Programs are led by our trained facilitators aged 20 to 30 and are supported by clinical redundancy resources.
• CHEO'S Boyish health clinic treats youth for a broad range of health bug, such as schoolhouse problems, chronic illness, family stress, gender diversity, sexuality, and transient situational difficulties.

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Source: https://www.parentinginottawa.ca/en/youth/youth-and-opioids---what-parents-need-to-know.aspx