Unregulated Drug Supply Information for Health Care Professionals
Higher-risk substance use can negatively impact mental and physical health, schooling or work, finances, safety, and relationships. Substance use is having devastating effects on individuals, families, and communities across Canada. It is a community issue that requires community solutions.
Drug-related Public Health Alerts and reports
Use the following to access our drug-related Public Health Alerts as well as reports:
Our drug-related Public Health Alerts
Use the following to access our drug-related Public Health Alerts
Our drug-related reports
Use the following to access our drug-related reports
Drugs in our region
Drugs we are currently hearing about in the Northwestern Health Unit (NWHU) region include:
Opioids
They are being used across the region through injection, inhalation, snorting, and by swallowing. The overdose rates are consistently high – see our Opioids in Our Communities page.
Fentanyl
More people are using fentanyl as their drug of choice and it is more often being laced into other drugs. There is an increased risk of overdose when fentanyl is mixed with other substances. NWHU offers fentanyl testing strips to clients in many of our offices.
Xylazine
Recreational use of xylazine is new in our region and is a medication used by veterinarians for pain relief, sedation, and muscle relaxation of large animals (referred to as horse tranquilizer). It is not approved or safe for human consumption. Use of this drug can lead to symptoms like an opioid overdose, but it is not an opioid so it does not respond to naloxone. Xylazine can cause skin ulcers when injected. NWHU offers xylazine testing strips to clients in many of our offices.
Crystal meth
Crystal meth continues to be used in the region. It is a powerful stimulant that reduces the feeling of needing to eat or sleep and those who use it can stay awake/alert and not eat for long periods of time. The drug can also create aggressive or impulsive violent behaviour, paranoid delusions, and hallucinations.
Benzodiazepines
Benzodiazepines are being used in our region. Mixing these drugs with other ‘downer’ substances increases the risk of overdose and can be very dangerous.
Harm reduction
Harm reduction practices are evidence-based strategies designed to reduce the harms associated with drug use and other high-risk activities. They range from safer drug use to drug abstinence and recognize drug use as a complex, multi-faceted issue and aim to minimize the harmful effects of drug use rather than judge, condemn, or ignore it. For more information about harm reduction, visit our Harm Reduction page.
What you can do
To help, you can do some of the following:
- Get naloxone training and have a kit; learn more by visiting our Getting a Naloxone Kit page
- ALWAYS administer naloxone if you suspect an opioid overdose, there is no harm in administering it to someone who has not used an opioid
- Share safety messaging with clients/patients
- Talk often about getting help such as treatment and refer to local agencies when able.
- Contact your local NWHU office if you’d like to
- Provide sterile supplies and harm reduction support by becoming a distribution site.
- Become a naloxone distribution site so that you can give naloxone kits to people at risk of overdose and their friends and family.
Messaging for clients/patients
Some messaging that you can share with clients and/or patients includes:
- Always use new equipment when preparing/using drugs.
- Don’t share any drug supplies, including ones for snorting, smoking, or injecting.
- Your drugs could have other things in them – use smaller amounts, go slow, and do NOT mix your drugs.
- Try not to use alone. Buddy up with someone you trust.
- If you must use alone, have a safety plan:
- Get someone to check on you in person or by phone
- Call the National Overdose Response Service (NORS) at 1-888-688-NORS (6677) to get support while using alone.
- Use the Lifeguard app.
- When using with friends, do not use at the same time. Make sure the other person is OK before you use.
- Get naloxone and know how to use it.
- Call 911 if you think it’s an overdose. The Good Samaritan Drug Overdose Act provides some legal protection.
More information and guidance
- Call your local NWHU office if you need naloxone, or want to become a naloxone distribution site or a needle distribution site.
- Ontario Harm Reduction Distribution Program Connecting Guide
- CATIE (Canadian AIDS Treatment Information Exchange)
- About substance use – Health Canada
- Controlled and illegal substances – Health Canada
Public Health Alert – Fentanyl being sold as counterfeit Hydromorphone
Public Health Alert – Animal tranquilizer in unregulated drugs and increased toxicity events
Public Health Alert – Drug poisonings
Public Health Alert – Aqua Fentanyl Overdoses in Thunder Bay
Public Health Alert – Fentanyl found in Crack Cocaine supply in Dryden
